Helping Hand
by PattiL61
Summary: Chapter 19 (CONCLUSION) is up (012104). Alas, we have come to an end. Thanks for all the great feedback. I really enjoyed the comments. And now, the last chapter...
1. Chapter 1

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 1  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Boscorelli!" the Lieutenant shouted down the hallway as he noticed Bosco walking toward the locker room at the end of his shift.  
  
Bosco stopped, drew in a deep breath, and turned toward the sound of the Lieutenant's voice. It had been a terrible shift - one stupid thing after another, with a really gruesome traffic accident that he'd had to handle until EMS arrived. He still had the blood on the knees of his uniform pants from kneeling alongside the overturned car, holding the hand of the kid that had taken the turn too fast - a 16 year old boy with some serious injuries who was more scared of what his Dad would say about him wrecking the car than the fact that his survival was questionable.   
  
Bosco looked up the hallway to the Lieutenant who was waving a piece of paper in his direction as he talked on the phone. Bosco slowly let the breath out and walked toward the desk, feeling the tiredness seep further and further into his bones. "Lieu?" he said as he reached him only to find he was taking another call. The Lieutenant indicated for Bosco to wait a minute and he couldn't help but smirk at the familiar one-fingered sign for 'wait a minute' that the Lieutenant was famous for.  
  
Swersky hung up the phone and noticed the smirk on Bosco's face. "What's so amusing? Cause I could sure use a laugh," he said.  
  
"Nothin', Lieu. You wanted me?" Bosco replied, wiping the smirk from his face.  
  
"You okay?" Swersky asked him, noticing the weary look on his face.  
  
"Yeah, Lieu. Fine. Just a busy shift. What's up?" Bosco said, brushing off the Lieutenant's concern, but unable to hide the fatigue in his voice.  
  
The Lieutenant nodded, remembering the radio transmissions from Bosco as he inquired, more than once, about the status of EMS's arrival on the scene of a traffic accident earlier in the shift. He could tell by the sound of the officer's voice over the radio that the injuries were bad. "I got a call from the hospital. That kid didn't make it," he said, taking in Bosco's reaction.  
  
Bosco nodded. "I didn't think he looked too good. Did they get hold of his parents? He really wanted to apologize to his Dad for wrecking the car," he said sadly.   
  
"Yeah, I think the accident investigator said they did," Swersky replied.   
  
Bosco nodded, remembering the kid's face as they cut him out of the car and loaded him onto the stretcher. He'd wanted Bosco to go to the hospital with him, but he couldn't leave the accident scene until everything was under control. He had gently pulled his hand from the boy's grasp, telling him, "Kyle, this is Kim. She's gonna stay with you all the way to the hospital. She'll take good care of you, okay?" The boy looked over to Kim who gave him a warm smile and took his hand from Bosco's.  
  
"Thanks," the boy said weakly to Bosco.  
  
"You just hang on and be tough," Bosco told him as he closed the door to the ambulance, banging on the back to tell the driver that it was secure. He stood and watched the boy as the ambulance pulled away with a feeling that it would be the last time he'd see him...  
  
"Bosco!" he heard as he was pulled from the memory. He jumped slightly and his attention was back on the Lieutenant.  
  
"You didn't get some girl into trouble, did you?" the Lieutenant asked.  
  
"What? No!" he replied, a frown coming to his face.  
  
"Well, this girl keeps calling for you, but she won't leave a message. Just says she'll try to call back and catch you," his boss relayed.  
  
Bosco thought back, but couldn't recall any unfinished business with anyone - male or female. "I don't know what to tell you, Lieu. Just keep trying to get a name or call-back number when she calls," Bosco said, turning to head back to the locker room.  
  
"Oh, so now I'm your personal secretary?" the Lieutenant called after him.  
  
"Thanks, Lieu. I'll remember you on Secretary's Day!" Bosco called back to him, enjoying teasing him.  
  
He walked into the locker room and sat on the bench in front of his locker. He never remembered feeling so tired after a shift. Lord knows that he and Faith had had some tough ones, he thought and then glanced over at the empty space in front of Faith's locker. She should be there, changing into her street clothes and walking out the front door with him. Instead, she was home, in bed, unable to walk because of the predicament he'd put her in. He finished changing and, slamming his locker closed, looked one more time to where Faith would have been finishing up and then walked out of the locker room.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**  
  
"55th Precinct, Sergeant Morris," the officer said as he answered the phone.  
  
"Yes. I'm trying to reach Officer Boscorelli. Is he still there?" asked the female voice on the other end.  
  
"Um, no ma'am," answered the Sergeant. "He left about 15 minutes ago. Can someone else help you, or can I take a message?"  
  
"No," replied the caller with disappointment. "I'll try again. Thank you," she said and hung up the phone.  
  
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TBC... 


	2. Chapter 2

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 2  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Emily paced around the living room of the apartment. There was plenty of room to pace since the furniture had been pushed out of the way so that her mother could maneuver her wheelchair. She glanced at the clock again, noticing that it had only moved two minutes since the last time she'd looked at it at 2:30 a.m. Charlie still wasn't home. She'd lied to Faith when she told her that Charlie was at a friend's house working on a school project. When Faith had gone to bed exhausted after her physical therapy and her father had gone to work his overtime shift to help defray the costs of raising their family without Faith's overtime money, Emily had assured her mother that she'd wait up for Charlie. Truth was - she didn't know where Charlie was. "An all to common occurrence lately," she thought to herself. He'd been saying that he was staying after school a lot - that he was involved in a bunch of school activities. But, she'd heard through the grapevine of friends that he was in some trouble.   
  
According to one of her friends, Emily had found out that Charlie had started hanging with a bad crowd. This started shortly after Faith had been shot - while she was still in the hospital actually. He'd been coming home later and later at night and more than once she'd thought she'd smelled beer on his breath. She hadn't wanted to say anything to her mother and father - they had enough to deal with and she thought she could take care of it. Despite all of her efforts, though, Charlie had become more difficult to deal with. Now, she was trying to figure out what to do.  
  
She was brought from her thoughts by the sound of keys fumbling in the lock. She walked over and pulled open the door to come face to face with her brother. He merely gave her a dirty look and brushed past her.  
  
"Charlie! Where have you been?" Emily demanded. Ignoring her question, Charlie threw his jacket on the floor in the corner under the coat hook and strolled into the living room and flipped on ESPN.  
  
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Emily persisted in a hushed tone.  
  
"Leave me alone," Charlie responded meanly. "Nobody appointed you my keeper."  
  
"What's going on with you, Charlie? I'm worried," she said, sitting down next to him and smelling the alcohol on his breath.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Just worry about yourself," he snapped. He stood up abruptly and walked down the hallway, closing the door behind him.  
  
Watching him walk away, the sinking feeling in the pit of Emily's stomach intensified. She definitely had to get help. "Please call me back Bosco," she willed him to herself. Reaching over to the remote, she clicked off the television and locked up and went to bed herself.  
  
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"Good. Now go away." Faith's words rang in his head and the pain that the words inflicted were felt again in his chest. She'd dismissed him. She was through with him - he'd really screwed up this time. He barely remembered ending up at the bar where his mother worked - already well on his way to being trashed. She sat him down, gave him another drink like he'd ordered and then started watering the next drink down. She tried to get him to tell her what was wrong. She'd seen him come in upset before, but there was something different these last few times - something desperate in the look of his eyes.  
  
  
  
"Maurice. I can't help you if you don't tell me about it. Please," Rose pushed.  
  
"Ma, no one can help me. I don't want to hurt anyone else," Bosco slurred as he downed the drink and made a face at the watered-down taste. "You won't be in business much longer if you keep serving drinks like this," he sniped, reaching for the bottle next to his mother - missing the first time, but getting hold of it the second. Rose didn't stop him from pouring another drink. She could tell by looking at him that he'd pass out before he finished it. She glanced over at Bosco's brother, Mikey, who was sitting over in the corner watching his brother's misery. He knew that if he went over to try to help that Bosco'd just start ragging on him about how he'd screwed up by getting involved in drugs - even if he had been clean for over a year and holding down a respectable job since his brother had arrested him.  
  
She looked back at Bosco and saw him sound asleep - his head lying on the bar.  
  
"Mikey, help me get your brother upstairs," Rose called to Mikey. As Mikey walked over, Rose asked him, "You know what this is about?"  
  
Mikey shook his head, but said, "Has to be work. That's all he does," Mikey replied as he took most of his brother's weight and Rose helped him get him upstairs.  
  
They half-carried, half-dragged Bosco into the spare room and laid him on the bed. He mumbled a few things, but they couldn't make out what he was saying. "You want me to stay with him?" Mikey asked.  
  
"No. Go downstairs and ask Paula to close up tonight," she said, taking Bosco's shoes off. Mikey turned to go back downstairs, but Rose stopped him, "So, you have no idea what this might be about?" Mikey explained what he'd heard about the events of the last couple of weeks as he watched Rose expertly remove Bosco's jacket and pulled down the covers on the bed from under him.  
  
"You're pretty good at doing that," Mikey noted to his mother as Bosco never stirred during the whole process.  
  
Rose finished and threw a blanket over Bosco. She bent down and put a hand on his head. "Goodnight, Maurice. Sleep well."   
  
Straightening up, she looked at Mikey and said, "I got lots of practice with your father. Besides, he's so tired I don't think an explosion would wake him up now. He looks like crap - has for the last two weeks," Rose said, looking back at Bosco. So, how bad was Faith Yokas hurt? He wouldn't tell me," she asked her other son. He shrugged that he didn't know.  
  
Mikey preceded Rose out of the bedroom and she turned to turn off the light. Before she turned the switch off, she looked at her son and noticed a frown. "Okay, as bad as it was, that was a couple of weeks ago. I wonder what happened tonight to set him off again?" she thought to herself as she flipped the switch and walked up the hallway.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Early the next morning, the phone in Bosco's apartment rang, unanswered. The machine picked up and she left a message.   
  
"Bosco, it's me. I really need to talk to you. I missed you at work. You can't call me. I'll just keep trying," said the caller, hanging up the phone. The light on the answering machine blinking was the only color in the darkened, disheveled apartment, empty beer bottles and dirty dishes lying about.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	3. Chapter 3

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 3  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, Mom," Charlie said as he walked into her bedroom. "Anything new today?" he asked, leaning over to give Faith a kiss. He was referring to whether Faith had any sensation returning to her legs.  
  
"A little bit more every day, Charlie," she said with a smile as she kissed him back. He started to take her breakfast tray away that Fred had brought her before he left for work. It was Saturday and Faith's mother was coming over in a little while. Emily could take care of things until then.  
  
"Hey, Charlie. Sit for a minute. I want to talk to you," Faith said, patting the bed alongside her and noticing the circles under her son's eyes.  
  
"Mom...," he said, giving her a look. She knew what he wanted, but it only reminded her of him - her partner. He'd called him Chuckie once when Fred was sick during the blackout and he liked it - probably because he thought Charlie sounded babyish.  
  
Unable to say it, she only said, "Please?" and again gestured for him to sit next to her. He flopped down alongside her and waited for her to begin.  
  
"So, how's school going?" she asked.  
  
"Alright," he replied without looking at her.  
  
"Just alright? Used to be you loved school. Are you having trouble with any of your subjects, cause maybe I could help you if you don't understand something?" Faith offered.  
  
"No. School's fine, Mom," he said, starting to get up, but stopping when he felt her hand on his arm.  
  
"What about everything else? No problems or anything you want to talk about?"  
  
"Nope. Everything's fine. I'm in some stuff at school so I stay after almost every day," he lied.  
  
"I know. That's great. What kinds of things are you in?" Faith asked, not able to get any real information from him before about all the time he spends at school.  
  
"The usual stuff. Basketball, stuff like that," he said.  
  
*******************  
  
Emily was outside of her mother's door, listening to the conversation. She'd hoped that her mother would notice finally that things were not alright with Charlie. She'd noticed a change in him right away after her mother came home from the hospital. But, everyone was worried about Faith and she hadn't said anything - thinking she could handle it on her own. But, he was resentful of her butting in and resisted her attempts. She really didn't know what to do, but she didn't want to burden her parents with anything more right now. They had enough to deal with and her mother didn't need any distractions from getting up and around again.  
  
She'd made the decision yesterday to try to get help, but she hadn't been successful so far.  
  
*******************  
  
"Mom, I've gotta go meet some of the guys at the park. We're getting a basketball game together, okay?" Charlie said, standing up, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation.  
  
"Oh, okay. Have fun. Don't be gone all day, okay? Your Dad wants to take you guys out for dinner tonight - you know, some fun, maybe a movie too," Faith said as she watched her son walk out of the room. "When did he get so much taller?" she thought to herself.  
  
Charlie walked out and almost ran into Emily. "Mind your own business," he sneered meanly to her and walked away.  
  
**********************  
  
Emily knocked on the apartment door, waiting for an answer. She'd told her mother and grandmother that she was going to the mall with one of her friends. She told her that she had her cell phone with her in case they needed anything and that she'd be home in plenty of time to go to dinner with Charlie and her Dad.  
  
She put her ear next to the door and listened for any sign of life from inside the apartment. She knocked again, thinking that he must still be sleeping. Finally, after knocking again with no response, she used her cell phone to leave another message. She'd already left one last night.  
  
She could hear the phone ringing on the other side of the door and she waited for the answering machine to pick up. She listened to the message and then waited for the signal to speak.  
  
"Hi. This is Emily again. Sorry that I keep missing you. I'd really like to talk to you if you have a few minutes. It's about Charlie. I'm worried about him. But, you can't call me because, well..., Mom and Dad will get upset. I just don't really know what to do. It's probably nothing anyway, but I'll keep trying to catch up with you. Bye," she finished, hanging up the phone.  
  
She knocked once more, then satisfied that he wasn't home, she turned and left.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco smelled the aroma of coffee assault his nose and stirred slightly. The movement made his head pound and his stomach churn. The unmistakable sound of aspirin being shaken in a plastic bottle followed and he slowly opened one eye to see his mother standing over him. He closed his eye.  
  
"Ma?" he said weakly.  
  
"Well, it's about time. I was just about to get a mirror to hold under your nose to see if you were still breathing," Rose said, sitting on the edge of the bed.  
  
"How'd you get in here?" he mumbled, not yet realizing that he wasn't at his own apartment.  
  
"Um, I live here, Maurice," she said. Bosco opened both eyes and peeked out from behind the arm that was protectively draped over his face to prevent the light from getting in. He slowly looked around the room and realized that he was, indeed, at his mother's apartment.  
  
"Okay. How the hell did I get in here?" he corrected himself.  
  
"You really don't remember, do you?" Rose said, concern crossing her face.  
  
"Doesn't really matter, I guess," he said, starting to sit up. Rose looked at the expression on his face and immediately knew to get out of the way. She jumped up off the bed just in time to avoid getting knocked over by Bosco on his way to the bathroom. Her eyes followed his fast, clumsy path as he reached the doorway and slammed his shoulder squarely against the door jam as he made the turn up the hallway to the bathroom. After a quick expletive, the bathroom door slammed shut and then she heard the sounds of her son throwing up whatever was left in his stomach from last night.  
  
She was standing outside the door with a towel and washcloth for him to use when he showered. She'd grabbed a clean t-shirt from the dresser that he'd left behind at one time or another. After a few minutes, the door opened slowly and he reached out to grab what he knew was waiting for him and the cup of coffee and bottle of aspirin.  
  
"Thanks," he mumbled, closing the door. A moment later Rose heard the shower turn on and a low moan as Bosco must have gotten under the hot water.  
  
"Something very bad happened," she said to herself as she went back to the kitchen to fix him some breakfast in the hopes he'd eat it. From the looks of him, he hadn't done much to take care of himself. He'd lost weight and he wasn't getting much sleep from the circles under his eyes.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	4. Chapter 4

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 4  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rose looked at her son as she brought the coffee pot over to the table. She took in the still-tired expression in his eyes as he looked over the front page of the morning paper. He didn't move as she reached in front of him to fill his cup.  
  
"You going to tell me what's going on?" she asked quietly. She could see his posture tense.  
  
"It's nothin', Ma," he told her. "Thanks for putting me up for the night."  
  
"You're always welcome here, Maurice. You know that. I just want to know what's going on that's making you look like crap," Rose continued to prod.  
  
"Ma. Just leave it alone, okay?" he said, slight irritation in his voice. He dropped the newspaper and, reaching with one hand for his coffee, he rubbed his eyes with the other.  
  
"What? Leave it alone until I get a call saying that your in the hospital? 'Cause you look like death warmed over, Maurice. You're brother had to help carry you up here last night. You don't even remember that, do you?" Rose said, now with irritation in her own voice.  
  
"Mikey was here last night?" he said, trying to remember back. He couldn't even remember how he'd gotten to his mother's place in the first place.  
  
"Yeah, Mikey was here. He's worried about you too," she said. "Please, let me try to help you. Even if it's just to talk things out. What could be so bad?"  
  
Bosco gave a half-laugh and thought, "If only you knew."   
  
Rose sat down across from him and put a hand on her son's. "Please, Maurice. Let me help you. You can't keep drinking and not sleeping."  
  
He looked at his mother's eyes and saw the genuine concern there. He told her all of what had been happening - from teaming up with Cruz to the shootout in Noble's hotel room - to Faith being paralyzed by a bullet from Cruz's gun - to Faith's dismissal of him the night he got Cruz to drop the case against Faith. Rose sat back against her chair trying to digest all of what he told her.  
  
"My God, Maurice. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she said, still in awe of all that she'd just heard. "You shouldn't have had to deal with this all by yourself. Have you talked to anyone about it?"  
  
Bosco shook his head. "There's no one left to talk to about it. Faith won't even look me in the eye - that's if I could even get past Fred," he added.  
  
"So, this Cruz. What's the deal with her? She's getting off with no repercussions? That hardly seem right," Rose said defiantly.  
  
"The FBI's got her back. Luckily, they've got my back. I'm just lucky I could convince Cruz to back off of Faith. She's been through enough because of me," he said, trailing off and turning to stare out the window.  
  
"Not because of you. She's a big girl, Maurice. She made her own decisions. She helped you, just like you'd have been there to help her if the situation were reversed," Rose told him.  
  
"But the situation NEVER is reversed, Ma. I'M the one that screws up all the time," he said, bringing his gaze back to his mother.  
  
"So, this has been going on for a while. What made last night so bad that you had to get that trashed?" Rose asked him. Bosco relayed the call of the boy killed in the car crash last night.  
  
"How awful," Rose said. "Do you want me to make you something to eat?"  
  
"No. I should head home. I've gotta work tonight and I still have to pick up my uniforms from the cleaners and stuff," he said, standing up. Rose followed him to the door where he grabbed his jacket and put it on. He reached into his pocket to find his keys.  
  
Opening the door, he turned back to his mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Ma," he told her.  
  
"Maurice. Please talk to me whenever you need to. And don't give up on Faith. She'll come around," Rose said, putting a hand on her son's cheek.  
  
Bosco nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him.  
  
Rose walked to the window and watched her son walk to his car, never wondering until now how he'd even managed to drive it here last night. The car was definitely parked askew to the curb and it was a wonder that it hadn't gotten towed during the night.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^  
  
Bosco walked up the stairs and into his apartment, dropping his keys and the mail he'd retrieved from his mailbox onto the table by the door, he continued to the closet to hang his clean uniforms until it was time to leave for work where he'd put them in his locker. You never knew when you were going to need a fresh uniform in the middle of a shift. Bosco remembered that he hadn't picked up his from the cleaners after last night's call with the kid from the car crash. He chased the thought of the poor kid from his mind as he turned and punched the television on for background noise.  
  
Walking out to the kitchen, he noticed the message light on his answering machine flashing rapidly - indicating that he'd had more than one call while he was out. He reached down and pushed the "play" button as he continued to the kitchen to get a drink of orange juice.  
  
He froze as he heard Emily's voice come out of the machine. Putting the glass and carton of juice on the counter he rushed over to the machine and listened to the numerous messages she'd left for him. She'd never told him what the problem was, just that she needed his help with something.  
  
He grabbed for the phone and began dialing Faith's number, then remembered the fact that Emily didn't want him to call her at home, not that Faith and Fred would even let him talk to her. "Hell, they probably had the phone company put a block on calls coming from my phone," he thought to himself sarcastically.  
  
He pulled out his wallet and looked through it to see if he had Emily's cell phone number, but he didn't. "Dammit!" he said out loud. He played the messages again, noticing the nervousness in her voice. Something was wrong. How would he find out what? He rubbed his head in an attempt to get rid of the last of the alcohol-induced headache that remained. Suddenly remembering, he grabbed his phone and looked through the caller ID list that displayed. Emily's cell phone number displayed as "Unidentified Caller," just like anyone that called with a cell phone.   
  
Glancing as his watch, he roughly put the phone back in its cradle. He jammed his wallet back into his pocket. He went to the kitchen and grabbed two aspirins out of the bottle that he kept in the cabinet, washing them down with the juice. He put the carton back into the refrigerator and then went over to the closet and grabbed his uniforms. He picked up his keys and grabbed his jacket on the way out the door. If he left now, he'd have time to drive by Faith's and hopefully catch Emily on her way home from school before he had to be to work.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Charlie!" Emily called after her brother as she exited the school behind him. She saw him hesitate for a moment and then continue on with his friends. She ran to catch up to him.  
  
"Charlie!" she said again, grabbing his arm and spinning him to face her.  
  
"What?!" he yelled back at her. She looked at the dark circles under his eyes, that seemed to have gotten worse than they were this morning when they'd left for school.  
  
"Please, Charlie. Just come home now. You look like crap and I'm really afraid of what's going on with you," she pleaded.  
  
"Em, I'm fine," he said, pulling his arm from her grasp and striding away to meet up with his friends.  
  
"Please, Charlie!?" she called after him. He turned toward her and just waved her off.  
  
Turning to walk in the other direction toward their apartment, Emily was lost in thought and didn't hear the car pull up alongside her.  
  
"Em?" Bosco called to her, not getting a response.  
  
"Emily!" he called again, jarring her from her thoughts. He saw some sort of relief cross her face as she turned to see Bosco in the car. He put the car in park and got out.  
  
"What's up, Em?" he asked and saw the glisten of tears that she held back. "What's wrong? Tell me," he prodded.  
  
"It's Charlie, Bosco. I think he's in real trouble," she said, relieved that she finally had someone that might be able to help her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	5. Chapter 5

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 5  
  
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Charlie sat in the corner of the old storage shed. He looked around the room before opening his fourth beer of the afternoon. He and his friends had found this place by accident one day when they were wandering around the park. It was surrounded by trees so it was a good place to hide away from everyone. Now, it was a standard gathering place for him and his "friends." Apparently, a gang of kids had used the place before because there was a bunch of old, crushed and otherwise destroyed beer cans, as well as hard liquor bottles, lying about. None of it looked too recent, however.  
  
Satisfied that no one noticed that he was taking more than his share of the beer, he popped open the can and started to drink it down. He was thinking about how he'd walked away from Emily earlier. She was always nagging on him. She wasn't his mother and father - she had no right to tell him what to do. And his parents sure didn't have time for him now. What, with his mother in a wheelchair and his father doting on her every minute that he wasn't working overtime shifts to make up for the money they'd lost out on because Faith wasn't working. Sure, she was getting her regular take-home pay, but she wasn't making any overtime because she wasn't on the streets making late arrests and attending trials. They'd come to depend on that extra money, apparently, so things were tight at home.  
  
He was brought from his thoughts from the sound of someone coming into the old shed uninvited.  
  
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" sneered the older boy that had walked in with a bunch of his friends. "Looks like we got a little beer party going on here," he said, reaching over to take a beer from the stash in the corner.  
  
"Hey, that's our beer," one of Charlie's friends chimed in.  
  
"Not anymore," said one of the other older kids.  
  
Charlie stood up, somewhat unsteadily, and said, "Why don't you go buy your own beer. Leave us alone."  
  
The boy that appeared to be the leader of the uninvited guests looked at Charlie, the look in his eyes sending a shiver down Charlie's spine. Glancing momentarily to his friends, the boy looked back at Charlie and took a couple of steps toward him. Charlie was in the corner and had nowhere to go.  
  
"Did you say somethin'?" the boy sniped at Charlie, making up the distance between the doorway and Charlie in a matter of two steps.  
  
"All I said was to leave us alone. We bought this beer and we don't feel like sharing it," Charlie said, the beer he'd already had making him braver than he actually was.  
  
Before anyone even saw the motion, the boy reached out and pushed Charlie back into the corner of the shed. He immediately followed up with some punches and a couple of kicks. Satisfied that Charlie wasn't going to fight back, the boy stepped back. Before leaving, he reached down and took the remainder of the beer and backed out of the shed with his crew.  
  
His friends were immediately by his side and helping him to his feet. There was blood coming from his nose and he had a split lip that was already swelling. His right eye was already getting a bluish/reddish bruise and was beginning to swell shut as well. One of the girls with them reached into her backpack and pulled out some tissues. She shoved them toward Charlie and one of the other boys took them and held them to Charlie's nose, putting Charlie's hand there to hold the tissue to try to stop the bleeding.  
  
"You're crazy," one of the kids finally said, and a nervous laughter started through the crowd. Charlie started to chuckle - if only to stop himself from crying from the pain - and was stopped by the pain in his side where the boy's foot had connected with his side.  
  
"C'mon, let's get you home," his friend said, helping him toward the door. One of the other's grabbed Charlie's bookbag and they headed out. They froze momentarily when they saw the headlights of a car approach and stop in front of the old shack. After regaining their senses, they immediately began to scatter into the woods surrounding the shed.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Bosco had met up with Emily and gotten the whole story from her. After assuring her that he'd find a way to help Charlie, he'd managed to make it to work just in time to get changed and make it into roll call without getting in trouble for being late.  
  
"One other thing," Lieutenant Swersky added at the end of the briefing. "Parks and Rec has come to us about some kids apparently using their storage shed near the corner of Arthur and 98th for a party hut. Let's do some extra patrols around there and see if we can break up the party or scare them off. That's it. Hit the streets," the Lieutenant finished and the officers filed out.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Bosco had been driving around his zone, keeping an eye out for Charlie. His cell phone rang and he reached in to take it from his pocket. "Boscorelli," he answered into the phone.  
  
"Hey Em. No. I haven't found him yet. I'll keep looking. He hasn't called or anything?" Bosco said, glancing at the clock on the dashboard. It was after 8:30 at night and he should have been home a long time ago. "I'll find him Em. I promise," Bosco said, hanging up the phone.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^  
  
Sully and Davis got out of the patrol car, leaving the lights shining on the kids they'd come across at the old storage shed. The kids scrambled to escape and Sully and Davis were only able to catch a few. Charlie had somehow managed to keep with his friend and was in the woods alongside the shed, out of sight.  
  
Satisfied that the kids had dispersed, Sully and Davis took the three that they'd caught and placed them in the back of their patrol car to give them a scare and bring them home. Junior being brought home by a police officer is usually enough to ensure a good "talking to" by the kid's parents to hopefully get the kid back on the right path.  
  
Bosco pulled up just as they were getting the last of the kids into the car. He'd heard them call out on the radio and thought he'd check it out to see if Charlie was among the kids.  
  
"Hey, Davis. Whatta you got?" Bosco asked the other officer as he approached their car.  
  
"Just a few kids kicking back and having a little too much fun on City property," Davis told him.  
  
"Yeah? Let's see who you've got?" Bosco said, bending down and looking into the car through the still-open door. "Any of you kids know Charlie Yokas?" he asked. They all shook their heads 'no.'  
  
"Uh huh," Bosco said, giving the kids another once over look. Standing up, he came face-to-face with Sully.  
  
"All done interrogating? Can we take the prisoners home now?" Sully said sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah," Bosco answered, giving Sully a sarcastic look. He watched as they got in their unit and pulled away. Bosco walked over to the shed, pulling his flashlight from his belt and shining it around the inside, noticing the beer cans that littered the floor. Turning to walk out of the shed, he tripped over something lying on the ground just outside the door. Shining his light on the object, he reached down and picked up the backpack that he'd tripped over. He brought it over to his car and opened it, using the light from the dome light of the car to identify that it was Charlie's backpack. He dropped the item on the seat of the car and walked back toward the woods that surrounded the shack.  
  
"Charlie? Where are you? It's me, Bosco," he called out.   
  
Charlie froze, not knowing whether he should give himself up or just remain quiet and hope that he'd leave.   
  
"Charlie? It's okay. Emily talked to me. I just want to talk to you for a minute. Help you if I can," Bosco called again. After a few moments, Bosco decided that Charlie must have gotten away. He turned and walked back to his car. Just before he got in, he heard a voice come from the wooded area.  
  
"Bosco?" the voice said, seemingly out of breath. He turned and saw Charlie standing at the edge of the wooded area. He walked back toward him, shining the light on him as he approached.  
  
"Chuck?" Bosco said, surprised at the boy's appearance. "What happened?" he said, reaching Charlie and then helping him to his car.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC.... 


	6. Chapter 6

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 6  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco was standing outside the examination room, looking in at Charlie who sat on the bed waiting for the doctor to come in.  
  
The phone on the other end of his cell phone rang twice and was answered in a whisper. "Hello?" Emily whispered into her cell phone.  
  
"Emily Amanda! It's too late to be talking on the phone. Tell whoever it is you'll talk to them tomorrow. And it better not be that Eric calling again," Bosco heard through the phone.  
  
"Mom. It's NOT Eric. It's Friday night. I'll only be a minute. Please?" Emily yelled back to Faith.  
  
After a moment, Bosco heard Faith yell back, "Make it fast. Is your brother home yet?"  
  
"Not yet. Hello?" Emily repeated into the phone, the worry heavy in her voice.  
  
"Em. It's me. I've got Charlie. He's okay. He was in a fight so he's kind of..., well, messed up. I'm gonna keep him with me tonight. You think you can cover for him with your Mom?"  
  
"A fight? What happened?" Emily asked, her voice a little louder than she'd wanted it to be.  
  
"He's okay. I swear. Just a black eye and a split lip. I'll take care of him," Bosco assured her.  
  
"Okay. Um..., I'll tell her this was Charlie and he's gonna stay at his friend Tommy's house tonight. Hold on," she said, putting the phone against her shoulder.  
  
"Mom? It's Charlie. He's gonna stay at Tommy's tonight. Is that okay?" she called to Faith.  
  
"He doesn't have any clothes or anything," Faith called back to her. "Let me talk to him." Emily froze, not sure of what to do until she heard Bosco calling to her from the phone.  
  
"Em! It's okay. Charlie's right here. He can talk to her. Hold on," Bosco said. He walked into the exam room and over to Charlie.  
  
"Tell your Mom that you're staying at your friend Tommy's house tonight. You better sell it," he warned him, still slightly irritated with Charlie for screwing up. He handed the phone to him.  
  
"Mom?" Charlie said into the phone. He listened as his mother talked and then answered, "No. I can wear some of Tommy's sweats tonight and my clothes are okay to wear home tomorrow," he told her as Bosco took in the sight of the dried blood on his shirt from his bloody nose and mouth. He rolled his eyes and Charlie, noticing the look, shrugged. "Yeah. I will. G'night, Mom," he said and handed the phone back to Bosco without making eye contact.   
  
Bosco put the phone to his ear, listening for Emily. After a moment, Emily was back on the phone. "Everything okay?" he asked, heading back out into the hallway to finish his conversation.  
  
"Yeah. She believed him. You're sure he's okay?" Emily asked him.  
  
"Yeah, Em. He's okay. We're gonna do some talking. Don't worry. Call me tomorrow when you can and we'll take it from there, okay?" After making sure that Emily was okay, he hung up the phone.   
  
He walked back into the examination room and over to Charlie, pulling his chin up so he could take a look at the dark bruise that was forming around his eye. "Unless you want your Mom to find out sooner than you're ready for - and believe me, you're going to come clean with her eventually - you better play along with me when the doctors and nurses come in," he warned him. He picked the cold pack up off the stretcher and put it back in Charlie's hand and moved his hand to his face. "Keep the ice on it," he said just as Mary Proctor came into the room.  
  
"So, who do we have here, Bosco?" Mary asked in the motherly tone that she'd even used on Bosco on more than one occasion.  
  
"The usual, Mary. I rolled up on a disturbance and found this kid getting the snot beat out of him," he told her.  
  
"Uh huh. What's your name, Son?" Mary asked Charlie.  
  
"The only thing I can get out of him is Charlie. Says he lives on the street. I'm gonna take him back to the House after you patch him up and see what I can find out. Can I talk to you a minute? Outside?" he asked her as she finished cleaning the dried blood off of Charlie's face and gave him a fresh ice pack. She turned to follow Bosco out into the hallway.  
  
"Mary. Don't push this kid for information, okay? I got a feeling about him. I'm gonna see what I can do. I don't think he's a bad kid, just messed up," Bosco told her.  
  
Mary gave him a look, smirked and said, "Am I the only one that knows about this soft spot you have, Bosco?" She was referring to the numerous times he'd been hard as nails with the average schmuck he'd brought in here and the times he'd been the exact opposite with certain kids. He saw something in them that made them worth trying for.  
  
"No problem. I'll pass the word to Dr. Fields that this is another one of your pet projects," she assured him.   
  
"Thanks," he said with a smile. He watched her walk into another patient's room and then he went back into Charlie's room.  
  
He pulled his phone from his pocket again and dialed the station. "Hey, Marty. It's Boscorelli. Let me talk to the Lieu, will ya?" After a moment, he was connected with Lieutenant Swersky.  
  
"Hey, Lieu. Boscorelli. I need to take some lost time tonight. What? No, I just feel like crap. Thanks, Lieu. I'll just bring the RMP back and get my car. No. If I can't work tomorrow, I'll call in," he finished, hanging up the phone. He put the phone back into his pocket as Dr. Fields came in and finished checking him over.  
  
"Looks like just superficial damage," he told the boy and Bosco. "Just keep ice on it and keep it clean. You don't need any stitches," he said, with a final look at the split lip.  
  
"Thanks," Charlie said, looking at his lap.  
  
"Thanks, Doc," Bosco said, shaking his hand.  
  
"Take it easy, Young Man," the doctor said to Charlie as he left.  
  
"Okay. Ready? Let's head back to get my car and then to my place. Okay?" Bosco said, handing him his jacket, still not letting Charlie know that he wasn't really mad at him.  
  
"Uh huh," Charlie said quietly, preceding Bosco out the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	7. Chapter 7

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 7  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco opened the door to his apartment and stood aside so Charlie could go in. He was moving slowly because of how sore he was.  
  
Bosco followed him in and closed and locked the door behind him as Charlie flopped down hard on the couch. Bosco put the bag they'd put Charlie's dirty shirt in at the hospital down by the door and hung up his coat. He walked out into the kitchen to see what he had to eat. He knew that Charlie was waiting for him to say something - anything - to him, but Bosco wanted to make him wait a little longer. Besides, he wasn't exactly sure what to say just yet.  
  
Not seeing much in the way of food, Bosco reached into the freezer and pulled out a handful of ice. He put it into a towel and walked out to Charlie. Without looking at him, he thrust the bag of ice in Charlie's direction. "Here, better keep ice on that eye," he said, turning and walking down the hallway.  
  
Charlie sat on the couch, wondering what he should do. He thought about leaving while Bosco wasn't looking, but knowing of the stories he'd heard from his mother about Bosco never giving up until he'd found some perp, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Bosco found him - and he'd be even more pissed than he appeared now. He looked down the hall, wondering why Bosco hadn't just deposited him back at his apartment for his mother to deal with.   
  
Reaching over, he picked up the remote and flipped the television on as he held the bag of ice to his face. He was flipping through the channels when Bosco pulled the remote out of his hand, turned the television off, and put the remote up on a shelf in what seemed like one swift movement.  
  
"This ain't no slumber party," Bosco said, throwing a handful of stuff at Charlie. "They'll be big, but it's all I've got," he added as Charlie looked through the pile of towels, sweats and t-shirts. "Shower's all yours. Shampoo is on the edge of the tub," he said and Charlie got up and walked down the hallway. Just before he closed the door behind him, Bosco added. "Then, we'll talk."  
  
Bosco listened as the shower turned on and then went back out into the kitchen in an attempt to throw something together that they could eat. He was starving and his stomach was making all kinds of noises to remind him.  
  
*^*^*^**^**^*^*  
  
After about 25 minutes, Charlie came out of the bathroom, holding his dirty clothing. The clothes Bosco had given him were big on him, but at least the sweats had elastic around the ankles so they wouldn't slip down and make him fall.  
  
"Um, what should I do with these?" Charlie asked hesitantly.  
  
"Just drop 'em on the bathroom floor. I'll put 'em in with my stuff later," Bosco told him, putting a plate of spaghetti and bowl of sauce on the table. "Hungry?" he asked Charlie.  
  
"I could eat something," Charlie responded, walking out into the kitchen as Bosco put some bread and butter on the table.  
  
"Sit down. It's all ready. Sorry, it's nothing too great," Bosco apologized, as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a can of soda and a bottle of beer. Thinking better of it, he put the beer back and grabbed another can of soda.  
  
"Thanks," Charlie said as he spooned some of the pasta and sauce onto the plate that Bosco had put on the table. Bosco slid a can of soda at him and sat down across from him and started putting food onto his plate as well.  
  
They ate in silence, each stealing glances at the other when they weren't looking. Finally, they were just about finished and Bosco spoke up.  
  
"So, what is it?" Bosco asked the boy and the forkful of food that Charlie had stopped in mid-air halfway between the plate and his mouth.  
  
"What's what?" Charlie stalled, putting the forkful of spaghetti in his mouth and taking a swig of the soda.  
  
"Don't play dumb, Charlie. You and I both know that you're obviously having some trouble. Your sister's scared to death for you and I gotta say that it looks like I showed up just in time in the park tonight," he said, trying to hold his anger in check. "Now, what the hell's the problem?" he asked again.  
  
Charlie shrugged, not really knowing how to put it into words. He knew that Bosco was only trying to help him, but how did he say that he was jealous of the attention that his mother was getting. It was bad enough that he'd resented all the fuss they made over Emily after she'd gotten sick from eating whatever it was she ate and ended up in the hospital. But, to be jealous of someone who was shot, almost died, and was now in a wheelchair was just stupid. But, it was the way he felt.  
  
"Well, how do you plan on explaining that mess on your face when you get home?" Bosco asked him.  
  
"It's not like anyone will notice," Charlie mumbled, more to himself than Bosco, but Bosco did manage to hear.  
  
"What's that mean?" Bosco asked.  
  
"Just what I said. Whether I'm there or not, no one notices. Dad's working all the time and Mom's either at the hospital for therapy or sitting in bed getting waited on by everyone," he said angrily.  
  
"You think your mother likes what's going on?" Bosco asked him, seeing now that Charlie was feeling neglected. "I think your old enough to understand that your mother's going through a hell of an ordeal - you all are for that matter. Your Dad's trying to keep the bills paid, which means that everyone else has to help out until your Mom is up and around again. And she WILL be up and around again, Chuckie. You do know that right?" Bosco asked, as he watched the tears brim in Charlie's eyes.  
  
"She almost died, Uncle B," Charlie said, the tears finally falling. Bosco got up and moved around the table to Charlie's side, putting an arm around his shoulder.  
  
"I know, Charlie. I know. But, the doctors say if she works hard she should be able to walk again," he said, letting Charlie cry, but letting him know that he was there for him also.  
  
"What's with the drinking?" Bosco asked gently.  
  
Charlie swiped a hand over his eyes, wiping away tears as he tried to get himself under control.  
  
"I'm so scared all the time, Bosco. I just wanted to not feel scared any mor.e," Charlie tried to explain.  
  
"Scared of what?" Bosco asked him, getting up and sitting on the kitchen chair alongside him now.  
  
"I'm not sure, but ever since Mom got hurt, I've just felt - I don't know - scared. Do you ever get scared?" he asked Bosco.  
  
"Yeah, Charlie. I do," Bosco said, not telling him the feeling of terror that went through him when he'd found out that Faith was paralyzed. It was unbelievable that he could have been more scared than when he saw her hit the floor in Noble's apartment, blood all over the front of her uniform, but he was. He was brought from his thoughts as Charlie asked him another question.  
  
"Dad says that Mom got hurt because of you? Is that true, Uncle B?" Charlie asked him. Bosco held the boys gaze for a few moments before responding.  
  
"Yes, Charlie. I take full responsibility for your Mom getting hurt. She was only trying to help me and I live with the fact every day that your Mom almost died because of me," Bosco said, his eyes tearing up as well.  
  
"Emily says that Mom knew what she was doing when she decided to help you. That no one forced her to do it," Charlie told him. Bosco smiled slightly at Emily's defense of him.  
  
"Well, that's true to some extent, but I did some stupid things to put myself in a position to need your Mom's help. And, as usual, she was there for me when it counted. Like I somehow always knew she would be - when it came right down to it," Bosco admitted.  
  
"So, this drinking you say is because you're feeling scared all the time?" Bosco said, bringing the conversation back to the problem at hand. Charlie just nodded and then quietly said.  
  
"At first, I didn't need it all the time. Then, I started to rely on it. I've pretty much been walking around with a 'buzz' on for the last few weeks," Charlie admitted, looking down at the floor.  
  
"Well, it stops now, Charlie. Understand?" Bosco said, pulling his chin up to look at him. "From now on, you need some help coping, you call me. Or Emily or your Dad. Or your Mom," he added. "You know you have to tell her what's been going on, right?" Bosco said.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. She's gonna be pissed," Charlie said, surprising Bosco with his last word.  
  
Recovering from the surprise, Bosco said, "Not as pissed as she's gonna be that Emily and I tried to take care of it without her finding out." They were interrupted by Bosco's phone ringing.  
  
Bosco walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Boscorelli," he said then his features softened. "Hey, Em. Yeah, we're here. He's okay. We just got done eating and having a talk," Bosco told her as he looked over to see Charlie giving a yawn. "I'd say he's wiped out for tonight. I'm gonna get him settled and then I'll drop him by tomorrow. What? No, don't worry. I won't come up," he assured her, still hurt by the fact that he wasn't supposed to be having any contact with these kids that he'd just about watched grow up before his eyes. "I know," he said as Emily apologized for the fact that he couldn't be seen around their apartment. "Yup. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Don't worry, Em. I think everything's gonna be okay. G'night," he said, hanging up the phone.  
  
"Okay. Let's get you settled. You can take my bed tonight and I'll take the couch," he told Charlie.   
  
"You sure? I don't want to make you sleep on the couch," Charlie argued.  
  
"Believe me, Chuckie. You'll be sore enough tomorrow. You don't need the added soreness of sleeping on this thing," Bosco said, patting the couch. "Besides, many's the time that I've crashed on this thing."  
  
"Thanks, Uncle B," Charlie said, heading down the hallway.  
  
"Don't thank me yet. You have to face the music tomorrow. And I want you to make sure that you come clean with your Mom, Charlie. You have to tell her everything. About the drinking. About the fight. Everything," he said.  
  
"I know. I will. I promise," Charlie said.   
  
Bosco watched him disappear into the darkened bedroom and then, grabbing the remote off the shelf, he sat down, let out a big sigh, and turned on the television. He didn't even remember falling asleep.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
TBC... 


	8. Chapter 8

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 8  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco woke to a sound he didn't recognize at first. He sat up quickly, trying to figure out where he was. The immediate soreness of his neck and back reminded him that he was on his own couch, the test pattern on the television screen telling him that the network station had gone off the air for the night. He let out a groan in honor of his aches and pains and listened again to the strange sound that had woken him up. It came from down the hallway of his apartment.  
  
He stood up and started down the hall, remembering that Charlie was there. He noticed the light spilling out from under the bathroom door and as he approached he recognized the sound - the sound of someone getting sick. "Chuckie?" Bosco called, lightly rapping on the bathroom door. He was rewarded with only a slight groan from Charlie as another round of vomiting started.  
  
Bosco reached behind him and grabbed a towel and washcloth from the linen closet in the hallway. He slowly turned the knob on the door, "I'm comin' in, okay?" he said as he pushed the door open. He found Charlie kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet, sweat making the hair cling to his forehead and around his face. Bosco turned on the faucet and ran the washcloth under the cool water as Charlie seemed to finish this round. He handed him the cloth and sat down on the edge of the tub, the towel hanging from his hands.  
  
"You okay?" Bosco asked him. "Headache, dizziness, blurred vision?" he asked, checking for any of the symptoms that the doctor had warned him about that would indicate a concussion or more serious head injury from the fight he was in. Charlie shook his head as he wiped down his face and neck with the cool cloth, catching his breath.  
  
"No, it's just my stomach," he said, sitting back, the bathroom wall against his back. "And you were right, I hurt all over," he admitted. Bosco stifled a chuckle. They both heard a voice suddenly come from the television. "What time is it?" Charlie asked.  
  
"Well, the TV just started up again with the morning news, so I think it's about 5:00 a.m. or so," he answered, watching as Charlie rubbed his stomach. "I'm guessing it's probably the pain pills they gave you at the hospital. They always screw up my stomach. C'mon," he said, standing up and offering Charlie a hand. "Let's try to get some toast or something in your stomach. That always helps me."  
  
Charlie reached up and let Bosco grab his hand and help pull him to his feet, a groan escaping as the aches and pains from his beating made themselves well known.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Mom!!" Emily gasped, dropping the dish that she was drying as Faith came slowly and haltingly walking up the hallway from her room. Fred followed her with the wheelchair, a big smile played out across his face.   
  
Emily rushed over toward her mother, careful not to lunge at her like she wanted and knock her over. "When did this happen?" Emily asked, her words quick and excited.   
  
"Just somethin' I've been workin' on," Faith answered, Emily's excitement mixing with her own. "I showed your Dad yesterday at the end of my therapy session," she said, slowly lowering herself into the wheelchair that was behind her. "I can't do it for very long yet, but it's a start. I wanted to surprise you guys, but your brother's not here," she said, smiling up at Emily, a little disappointment in her voice.  
  
"Well, he'll be here soon. Mom, it's so great! I'm so happy for you," Emily said, looking over Faith's head to her father who was beaming as well.  
  
"I told you, Em. I told you everything'd be okay," Fred said, putting a hand on Faith's shoulder. "Doctor said she's not allowed to overdo it," Fred told his daughter, giving Faith's shoulder a squeeze as a reminder.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm not about to screw things up now," Faith assured them both. Fred leaned down and gave his wife a kiss. Walking around the chair and hugging Emily, he said, "I gotta get to work. I'll be home about 3:00, okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm here all day," Emily said, still beaming over the fact that her mother had just walked up the hallway.  
  
"Okay. Call me if you need anything," he called over his shoulder as he headed for the door. Turning as he opened the door, he looked at Faith. "Take it easy," he ordered and Faith just nodded and waved at him to go on. He gave Faith a wink and pulled the door shut behind him.  
  
"Mom, this is so great. I'm really happy for you. Did you tell Grandma Mitchell or Grandma Yokas yet?" she asked as she went back to the kitchen to clean up the broken dish she'd dropped.  
  
"Not yet. I wanted you guys to all know first. I wish Charlie was here," Faith said, glancing at the clock.  
  
Emily's stomach tightened at that. "Well, he's on his way," she told her mother. "That was him on the phone before saying that he was on his way home," she lied, not telling her mother that it was Bosco on the phone before, telling her that Charlie wanted to tell Faith what was going on, but that he wanted Bosco there with him.  
  
"Em?" Faith called to her, noticing the strange look on her daughter's face. Emily looked up at her mother. "What's wrong?" Faith asked her, not breaking eye contact with her.  
  
"Nothing," Emily said, trying to lighten the moment.  
  
"Em," Faith stated in the tone that Emily knew meant business.  
  
"It's just that..., well...., Bosco's driving him over," Emily finally spit out.  
  
"What?!" Faith practically yelled. "What the hell is Charlie doing with Bosco?"  
  
"Mom, please. Just calm down. We'll all talk about it when they get here, okay?" Emily pleaded.  
  
"No, Em. I want to know what's going on. Now!" she urged.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	9. Chapter 9

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 9  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco turned off the ignition and pulled the key. Looking over at Charlie, who was looking out the window and up at his apartment, he said, "Ready?"  
  
Charlie slowly shook his head. "No," he replied quietly and Bosco could swear he could hear him gulp a swallow of air.  
  
"C'mon. It's gonna be okay," he assured him.  
  
"You're staying with me, right?" Charlie asked as they both opened their doors and exited the vehicle.  
  
"Absolutely," Bosco said, fighting the butterflies that were floating around in his own stomach. "If your parents don't throw me out through the window," he thought to himself. This would be the first time he'd be in their apartment since..., well, he didn't want to think about that day now.  
  
Bosco walked around the car and, putting a hand on Charlie's back, nudged him forward to get him walking. "C'mon, Buddy."  
  
They slowly walked up the stairwell to the apartment and Charlie's feet felt heavier and heavier the closer they got. Bosco wasn't feeling all that eager either, but if this was the only way that Charlie could get things straightened out and back on track again, then this is what needed to be done - despite how ugly things had the potential to get. Bosco only hoped that Fred and Faith could put aside their extreme dislike of him for the good of Charlie. The only hope was that knew that Faith always put her kids before herself.  
  
They finally reached the top of the stairs and stood outside the apartment door. Finally, Bosco spoke up. "You've got your key, right?"  
  
"Huh?" Charlie replied, not registering what he'd said at first. "Oh yeah. It's right here," he answered, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out the key.   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**  
  
"Mom, please. Let's just wait until they get here. I thought Charlie was in trouble and asked Bosco for help," Emily said in explanation.  
  
"Bosco?! Why Bosco? Why not me or your father. And what kind of trouble, Emily?" Faith asked in quick succession.  
  
"Mom, please. Let's just wait, okay?" Emily stalled again. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she didn't know it was going to start out this way either.   
  
Faith was just about to say something else when she and Emily both heard a key in the door. Emily rushed over to the door and pulled it open, practically pulling Charlie across the room with the force. She reached out and caught him by the arm before he fell to the floor.  
  
"Hey! We were waiting for you," Emily said, looking nervously at Bosco. Bosco looked as nervous as she felt.  
  
"Well, here we are," Bosco said, standing in the doorway. He stole a quick glance in Faith's direction and saw the disapproval on her face.   
  
"Charlie! What happened to you?" Faith gasped, looking at his swollen, bruised face as he rubbed his side from the pain of the quick movement when Emily pulled the door open.  
  
"Oh, uh, it's nothin', Mom," Charlie said, looking over his shoulder at Bosco who still stood in the doorway as if waiting for an invitation to enter. Charlie looked back at his mother. "Mom, I want Bosco here," he stated simply.  
  
"So I heard," Faith said, looking at Bosco who was looking everywhere but at Faith. "Well, c'mon in. Don't just stand there. Let's get down to it," she said and Bosco took a deep breath and took a few steps into the room, looking around.  
  
"Fred's not here if that's what your worried about," she said as Emily pushed Bosco further into the room and closed the door behind him.  
  
"Um, well, I was kind of hoping he was. Charlie needs to talk to both of you," Bosco said quietly, this time looking Faith in the eye. They held each other's gaze for a moment, as if remembering all the good times they'd had together and how much they missed each other. They'd been best friends for so many years, depending on each other to watch their backs, coming to know exactly how each of them was going to react to something, being able to take charge of situations without having to exchange words - only a glance. Bosco had to admit that he had no idea how Faith would react to this situation. They'd both changed so much over the last few months.  
  
"Well, seeing as I didn't know that this little meeting was going to take place, let alone that there was a problem," Faith said, tossing a peeved glance in Emily's direction causing her to flinch as if being slapped, "he went to work. He's not there yet, so I can't call him to come home. So, why don't we just start and then I'll fill him in later."  
  
Charlie looked at Bosco, nervously licking his dry lips. "Go ahead, Chuckie," Bosco urged, drawing a quick glance from Faith.  
  
Charlie took a few more tentative steps in and looked at the floor. "Charlie?" Faith prodded gently, rolling her chair closer to him. She took hold of his hand and guided him to a seat on the couch across from her. Looking at his swollen, bruised face, she gently put a hand on his cheek. "What is it?"  
  
"Um," he started, looking up at his mother, then over to Emily and Bosco, and then back to his mother. Emily walked over to Bosco and took his arm, pulling him over closer to Charlie and her mother. She gestured for him to take a seat across from Faith, next to Charlie, and then sat down herself.  
  
"It's okay, Charlie," Emily said. "It's okay."  
  
"Well, when you got hurt and everything," he said, pausing to take a deep, ragged breath. "I was really scared. I mean really scared," he said, looking at his mother. Faith nodded knowingly.  
  
"Well, you and Dad were going through so much and Emily was really busy trying to help out around here," he continued. "I didn't want to bother anyone. You know, cause any more problems. So, I just kept everything to myself, I guess - thinking that I could handle it. Well, I couldn't," he admitted, a tear escaping down his cheek. "So, I started hanging out with some kids at school - you know, the fun kids - kids that didn't really care about anything and were always cutting up and stuff. It felt good to just mess around and not have to think about anything else," he said, pausing to see if everyone was following.  
  
"Go ahead, Charlie. It's okay," Faith urged, putting a hand on her son's arm. Bosco watched the two interact.  
  
"Well, these kids that I was hanging out with, they started taking me with them to these parties and stuff. There was always beer there - and other stuff to drink - but, I always stuck with the beer. Anyway, I liked the way it took my mind off of everything. I used to only do it occasionally, but then when that didn't work, I started doing it more and then it took more and more to make me forget. Emily tried to talk to me - she knew I was in trouble - but I wouldn't listen," he told Faith. Charlie finished telling her the rest, right up to the fight, going to the hospital, and then staying at Bosco's apartment.  
  
Faith felt a knot in her stomach tightening. "How could I not have noticed anything?" she thought to herself. "How could I let this family fall apart?"  
  
"That's why I started trying to get hold of Bosco a few days ago," Emily relayed to Faith.  
  
"But, why didn't you come to me or your father? Why Bosco?" Faith asked, tossing a look in his direction - a look still filled with anger.  
  
"I don't know," Emily said, shrugging her shoulders nervously. "I guess I thought you guys had enough to worry about. You were in a funk for a while and then Dad was working so much to try to keep the bills paid and stuff...," she said, looking at her mother. "I know I should've come to you guys, but I don't know, I just tried to handle it. And, when I couldn't, I got in touch with Bosco. He was the only other person I could think of that could help us - that had always been there to try to help us when we needed it. Like when Dad got sick during the blackout and stuff. He knew when he couldn't find you that you were in trouble and he didn't stop looking until he found you," Emily said, tears spilling down her cheeks.  
  
Faith looked over at Bosco, who was watching her until she looked over. Then, he looked anywhere but at her. She thought of the relief she'd felt when she came out the door of the medical building with Fred over her shoulder. She hadn't known what she was going to do once she got Fred outside, but there he was - her partner - there for her when she needed him most. Like always. She thought of how he'd stood by her when she left Ceaser out on the street to get killed by that rival gang, thought about how he'd been there countless other times when she'd needed him - just as she always was for him.  
  
Emily broke into her thoughts, "...We finally hooked up with each other the night before last. And that's who was on the phone last night. Bosco called to tell me that he'd found Charlie - that he'd been in a fight, but that he was okay. He took him to the hospital just to get checked out and then took him to his place last night. Charlie was afraid to come home looking like that," Emily said, looking at her brother.  
  
"Bosco took me to his place so that I could think about things. We talked a lot about things. He convinced me to come here today and talk to you about everything. I'm sorry that I screwed up, Mom," Charlie said, crying now. "I'm sorry," he said, his shoulders shaking with the sobs he was letting go - the months of fear finally coming out.  
  
Faith stood up and moved toward her son. She sat down on the couch next to him and took him in her arms, holding him for what seemed like forever. "Charlie, please don't EVER hold anything back from me again. No matter what. I can take whatever it is you have to say and I'm always here for you - both of you," she said, looking over at Emily as well.  
  
No one noticed the shocked look on Bosco's face at seeing his partner get up out of her wheelchair and move to her son. Charlie hadn't even noticed what had happened.  
  
"Faith?" Bosco finally said in a whisper. She looked over at him, her look somewhat softened by what he had done for her son and the thoughts of what they'd been through together over the years.  
  
"You just walked over to him...," he said, still shocked. "How? I mean, when?" he asked, as Charlie pulled away from his mother and saw that she was sitting next to him on the couch.  
  
"Mom?" Charlie asked, puzzled.  
  
"Yesterday," she said, looking back at her son. "I tried it yesterday at therapy. I can't do it for very long, but it's a start. At least I know everything is working again," she said, and this time her eyes filled with tears.  
  
Bosco stood up. "That's great," he said, a great smile breaking across his face. "That's really great."  
  
Faith stood up again. "Yeah, it is." She brushed the tear that had escaped from her cheek.  
  
After an awkward moment, Bosco said, "Well, I guess I should be going. I've gotta work this afternoon..."  
  
"Yeah, okay. Well, thanks for everything Bosco. I'm glad that someone was able to get through to him," she said, walking slowly with him to the door. She stumbled slightly and Bosco caught her and held her up.  
  
"Here, let me help you back," he said, helping Faith back over to her chair. "You don't want to undo whatever you got working there."  
  
When she was seated back in her wheelchair again, slightly embarrassed at tripping, she said, "Yeah. Well, thanks again, Bos," she said, still holding onto his hand.  
  
"Anytime. I told Charlie anytime that he needed to talk or anything, to call me. I hope that's okay. You too, Em," he said, looking at Emily and then back to Faith. "That is, if it's okay with your Mom and Dad," he added.  
  
Faith nodded her agreement. Emily sensed that there were some things that were unsaid between Bosco and her mother and decided to let them try to talk some things out since her father wasn't there. "Charlie. You look tired. Let's get you settled in your room and then I'll fix you some lunch," she said.  
  
Charlie stood up and turned to Bosco. "Thanks, Uncle B. For everything," he said, walking over and giving Bosco a hug.  
  
"No problem, Chuckie. Remember what I said. Anytime," he reinforced to the boy as he watched the two kids walk down the hallway - leaving Faith and Bosco together in awkward silence.  
  
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TBC... 


	10. Chapter 10

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 10  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Faith watched Emily walk Charlie down the hallway and then let her gaze linger there as she felt Bosco's eyes on her. She didn't really know what to say to him. She was grateful for his help with Charlie, but the anger of all that had happened was still there - although it had faded slightly. She heard him clear his throat as if to remind her that he was still there and slowly, she turned to face him.  
  
"Well, Fred should be at work by now. I'll give him a call and let him know what's going on," she said, not looking him in the eye.  
  
"You want me to stick around? I can take a couple of hours of personal leave if you want me to help you tell Fred. You know, in case he has any questions or, you know, wants to kill me," Bosco said, trying to take some of the seriousness out of the moment.  
  
Faith let a small laugh escape. "No. You've done enough, Bos," she said, realizing that he could have taken that a couple of ways - one of them being as a dig at what had happened to her. She looked quickly back at him to see the hurt expression on his face. "I didn't mean it that way. I mean well..., thanks for helping Charlie out. I just wish he felt like he could talk to us," she clarified, and Bosco noticed the disappointed look on her face.  
  
Bosco looked back at her, still standing near the door. He nodded, "Well, as long as he gets some help now is all that matters. I can kind of understand how he felt. I mean, when my parents were having problems, the last thing I wanted to do was to hit them with more. So, pretty much nothing got solved around my house because my parents were having problems all the time," he added, finishing the thought with a sarcastic chuckle.  
  
"I know," Faith said, remembering the numerous little hints over the years at the hard childhood he'd had. She still remembered the confrontation between Bosco and his mother over the boyfriend that had beat her up - the look of pain on his face as they fought in the middle of the hospital hallway after he'd beat the snot out of the guy. The look of defeat as he walked to the nurses' lounge after she'd said she was going to go back to him and how sad she felt for him. The whole thing gave her a great insight into how he had always reacted to calls for domestic disputes - especially when they involved violence against women.  
  
"So, the doctors say your doing well then?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence again.  
  
"Yeah," Faith answered. "It's just gonna take a while, but they think I should be able to make a good recovery."  
  
"You gonna come back to work?" he asked, not wanting to know what her decision would be about partnering up with him again.  
  
"I don't know. Guess it depends on how much mobility I get back, but I'm trying," she answered.  
  
Bosco nodded. "Well, guess I should get going then," he said, turning to head for the door. "Let me know if you need anything, Faith. I'm just a phone call away - always."  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Faith answered, rolling herself toward the door to see him out.  
  
Suddenly he turned back to her again and they both jumped as she wasn't expecting him to turn back to her and he didn't expect her to be right next to him. "Sorry," he said nervously, pausing as if to decide whether he should say anymore or not. Finally, he decided to just come out with it.   
  
He squatted down next to her. "Look, Faith. I never got the chance to talk to you really after everything happened. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about everything that happened. I wish I could take it all back - take the bullet for you.  
  
She interrupted him, "Bos, I just can't talk about this now. I have to get hold of Fred and..., well, I just can't," she repeated, her eyes getting wet.  
  
"You're right," he said, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry. I just..., I need you to know is all."  
  
"Know what? That mistakes were made - by everyone. I already know, Bos. Look, Emily's right. You didn't make me go into Noble's apartment that night. I'm a big girl. I knew what I was doing. I just don't understand how it all came to that. We always used to talk things out first. I mean, hell, I knew you were a big Romeo from the day we met, always getting caught up in one romance or another, but I'm still trying to figure out when you stopped listening. I could still always talk to you about the job - you still always had your head on straight when it came to that. But, Cruz messed with your head. You fell for her, Bos. Face it. You fell hard for her and that's where the problem was. You asked for advice when things started going sour, but your heart wouldn't let you listen. You could see no wrong with her - took her at her word for everything. Over me. Over me, and our 10+ years together. You broke up the partnership, Bos - broke up the trust. I wish to God that this hadn't happened," she said, sweeping her hand over herself and the wheelchair, "but I also thank God that it wasn't worse - that you didn't get killed in that apartment. Because, I don't know what I would've done, Bos. I don't think I could've handled the fact that I failed - wasn't able to get through to you," she said, tears falling now.  
  
"I'm sorry, Faith. You're right," Bosco said, tears gathering in his eyes as well. "I was blind when it came to Cruz. She had me totally fooled. Totally," he said quietly.  
  
"We weren't working as partners that night. I didn't trust you anymore. I didn't know how you'd react. I didn't know that you were focusing on Noble or I never would have shot my gun. I thought we were reacting to Cruz. That's why I shot. I thought she was drawing down on you, but she was reacting to your reaction to Noble taking his gun out." She said, trying to regain control of her emotions.  
  
They both were silent for a moment. Then, Bosco spoke, "So, what now? When you come back to work, what'll happen?" he asked, almost afraid to hear her answer.  
  
Faith shook her head. "I honestly don't know, Bos. I can't answer that now. Hell, I don't even know if I CAN come back to work. I'm still having a hard time getting over the fact that nothing really happened to Cruz in all of this. She's still working. She's going on as if none of this happened."  
  
It was Bosco's turn to shake his head now. "No, she's not. She's changed. Don't get me wrong," he added quickly at the look on her face that said she thought they were still involved. "We're not together, but I've been forced to work with her on occasion and she's changed. A lot. She's been through more stuff since that night. She got pulled from Anti-Crime and put back into uniform, working the street. Her Anti-Crime team got broken up. She got raped by a perp while she was working undercover at a prostitution ring. She's changed," he said.  
  
They were both silent again. Nothing more to be said right then. After a moment, Bosco stood up. He put a hand on Faith's shoulder as Emily came out from the bedroom. "Well, I gotta get to work unless you need me."  
  
Faith put a hand on his as it rested on her shoulder. "No. Go to work. I'll talk to Fred and we'll get Charlie some help. Thanks again, Bos. I mean it."  
  
Bosco nodded his head and gave Faith's shoulder a squeeze. He looked at Emily, "Bye, Em. Remember, call me if you need anything," he said, looking from Emily to Faith so they both knew he meant it. He opened the door and pulled it closed behind him as he took one last look at his partner.  
  
He stood outside the door for a moment, letting all that was said soak in. He wiped at his eyes and headed to work.  
  
Faith looked at Emily. "You were very good at helping Charlie. Thank you. But, I want you to know that you can come to me about anything - no matter what, okay?"  
  
"Okay, Mom," Emily agreed. "So, are things better with you and Bosco?"  
  
"A little, Em. Whew," Faith said, taking a deep, cleansing breath. "I'm gonna go check on your brother and talk a little. Then I'm gonna call your Dad. You okay for a bit?"  
  
"Yeah, Mom. I'm fine," Emily said, leaning over to hug her mother. She watched as Faith wheeled her chair down the hallway.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	11. Chapter 11

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 11  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Faith was sitting on the couch next to Fred. They'd just finished talking to Charlie and Emily together about things. Everything was out in the open about Charlie. They'd had a good family discussion about being honest with each other and not holding back how they were feeling. Emily had even insisted on letting Charlie know about her mistake with "Special K." He'd been very surprised and they'd talked about it.  
  
Now, the apartment was quiet. The kids had gone to bed and that left Faith and Fred time alone to talk about things.  
  
"I can't believe it happened," Fred said quietly as he played with Faith's hair. "He's so young."  
  
"Kids aren't as young as they used to be when we were kids. There's too much crap going on in the world and thrown in their faces every day. They have to grow up fast just to survive," Faith said.  
  
"So, do you think they've both learned their lessons?" Fred asked her.  
  
"I hope so. We have some pretty smart kids to begin with. They've had some very tough things to deal with lately - what with your heart attack and me being shot. It's more than most people have to deal with in a lifetime, Fred," Faith observed.  
  
"Mmmm," Fred agreed.  
  
Faith bit her tongue for a moment, then decided to voice her thoughts. "I'm kind of glad that Emily had the good sense to try to get help for him. I mean, it wasn't us - which I would have preferred, but she tried to size up the situation and felt that we had enough to deal with. I'm glad she didn't just try to handle it herself and it got worse."  
  
"Yeah," Fred said, sensing that Faith had more to say and knowing that he'd have to try to keep his emotions in check because he knew what was coming next.  
  
"I'm glad they had someone else they felt they could trust," Faith said, testing the waters. She could feel Fred tense as she sat against him.  
  
"You mean, Bosco," Fred said flatly.  
  
"Yeah. So, you want to talk about that?" Faith asked hesitantly.  
  
"I don't know. I'm pretty upset about it," Fred replied.  
  
"Upset how?" she asked him.  
  
"That you didn't call me. That you let him in this house. That he was near my kids after I told him specifically that night at the hospital that I didn't want him anywhere near my family," Fred said, his voice rising.  
  
"Fred, relax. He's not here right now," she scolded him.  
  
"I can't help it, Faith. He knew how I felt and yet he ignored it and tried to handle things with Charlie himself. Charlie. Our son. Our son, Faith. Not his son. Our son," he repeated.  
  
"I get it, Fred. He's our son. But, you know as well as I do that he's never done ANYTHING to hurt our kids. He's like their uncle," she stated. "And, our kids love him. They trust him. I don't know of anyone else besides us that they trust more than Bosco - including your parents and my parents," Faith reminded him.  
  
"I know," was all Fred said. They sat together in silence again.  
  
"I think he handled it pretty well. He knew what to do. How to get through to him and make him understand that he needed help. And, that he needed to talk to us. We always talked about how good a father he'd be some day," Faith said, thinking back to past conversations with her partner.  
  
"And, what else did you talk about today?" Fred asked, almost afraid to hear.  
  
"We talked a little about what happened, Fred. He apologized," Faith started and Fred interrupted her by sliding out from behind her, standing up, and beginning to pace.  
  
"He apologized? Apologized, Faith?" he said, pacing back and forth. "How do you apologize for almost getting someone killed because of your own stupidity?" he asked rhetorically.  
  
"Fred. Calm down," Faith urged, sitting forward and feeling the tightness in her back from sitting too long. Fred stopped pacing and looked at her.  
  
"You forgave him, didn't you?" he asked, incredulously.  
  
"Fred! Stop. You're making a big thing out of a little conversation. We talked A LITTLE. We by no means settled anything or forgave each other or anything," she told him.  
  
"Forgave each other?!" Fred said, almost jumping down her throat. "What the hell does he need to forgive you for?!"  
  
"Well," Faith started. "I have been feeling that I kind of abandoned him too. I mean, he came to me and asked me for help and I refused. He knew when he was in trouble and he tried to get help getting out of it and I refused to help him."  
  
"Faith, you have no reason to seek forgiveness. This is ALL him!" Fred argued.  
  
"No, Fred. It isn't. He came to me for help and I refused. Don't you understand? I abandoned him!" Faith repeated.  
  
"No. You drew the line," Fred argued back. "We had enough crap going on in our own lives - Emily's drug overdose," he offered as an example.  
  
"I know all that, Fred. But, the whole world doesn't stop just because we're having a problem. I'm not saying that I was at fault, but I did have some part in it," she tried to explain. She thought back to that day when Bosco had come to the apartment to ask for her help. Looking back, she now recognized the body language, the look in his eyes. She just didn't want to see it then. She was angry. Hell, she was jealous! Jealous that Bosco wasn't exclusive to her anymore. It was like one of her kids had grown up and left home.  
  
"How did you have a part in it? You told him how many times that Cruz was bad news?" Fred reminded her.  
  
"That day before this all happened - the day he came here and asked for my help. If I'd been paying attention and not thinking about how angry I was, I would have noticed just how desperate the situation was. Fred, Bosco did everything but get on his knees and beg me for help," she told him, standing up to relieve some of her back pain. She was tensing up and it was causing her some pain. She thought maybe moving around would help. "I ignored that."  
  
"So, what changed about how you felt then and how you felt at work? What made you decide to go to that guy's hotel room?" Fred asked, voicing his often-thought question for the first time.  
  
Faith looked at Fred and then at the floor, trying to find the words to describe the look on Bosco's face when he'd brought her outside the station to talk - asked her to go to Noble's place during her meal break. "He basically did beg me at work. He took me outside - out of earshot - and begged me to help him. Cruz was making him the scapegoat in framing an innocent man for murder - a murder that Aaron Noble committed," Faith said, the thought of Bosco's words - "You're all I've got, Faith. I don't have anyone else." - coming back to her and making her heart ache, just like it did that night. "He didn't know what to do. I should have - could have - stopped it right there. I should have gone to the Lieutenant and told him what was going on. But, there's a fine line we walk as cops - the dangers that we're in every day. It makes us rely on each other. You don't want to have pissed off some cop that could someday be the difference in you making it out of a hairy situation or not," she tried to explain, thinking back to the story that Bosco had told Ty when he wanted to go to IAB about Candyman. People think they understand, but no one really does - unless you're a cop.  
  
"Wait! Are you saying that if you didn't help Bosco, he might not be there for you in the future if you needed it?!" Fred asked, incredulously.  
  
"NO! I'm saying that the reason cops don't rat out other cops is because of what I said. I never said that Bosco would do that. I'm saying that I wouldn't put it past Cruz to put Bosco in that situation - to leave him somewhere to die if he crossed her. So, instead of going to the Lieutenant with it, I decided to help him out of this and THEN go to the brass about Cruz. But, things we didn't know about made the difference. That's what happened. Cruz was working with the Feds all along - so was Noble. They were working undercover without NYPD knowing anything about it. So, Cruz had a lot of other people's lives depending on keeping Noble's cover secure. I think to some extent, she was being played by the Feds and was in just as tough a situation as Bosco was. I'm not saying it was right. I'm just saying that's the way it was," Faith said, looking back at Fred now.  
  
Fred looked at his wife and saw the look of pain in her eyes. Was it from her back or from the conversation? "You need to lay down. You don't want to do any damage. We can talk about this another time," he said finally, walking over to help her down the hallway to bed.  
  
"Fred. Do you understand what I'm saying? How it wasn't all Bosco? He was trying to make things right, but there were things he didn't know about," Faith said as they walked down the hallway.  
  
Fred didn't say anything, not having sorted out all that she'd said yet. "We'll talk about it again, Faith. Right now, let's get some rest. We've got to figure out how we're going to help Charlie first."  
  
"Absolutely," Faith said, looking in at Charlie asleep in his bed. They stopped in the hallway and looked in at him for a few minutes before continuing on to bed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	12. Chapter 12

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 12  
  
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"Hey, Uncle B! What're you doin' here?" Charlie called from across the street. School had just let out and Charlie had looked up when he saw all the other kids marveling over some cool car parked across the street.   
  
"That's your uncle?" asked one of the kids.  
  
Charlie looked at the boy with pride and said, "Not exactly, but he's family."  
  
"Cool car!" one of the other kids said to him. "Does he let you ride in it?"  
  
"He let me drive it once," Charlie said, remembering the time that Bosco had let him sit on his lap and "steer" the car when he was pretty young.  
  
"Cool!" a few voices rang out in unison.  
  
Charlie looked up and down the street and crossed over to where Bosco was parked.  
  
"Hey, Chuckie. Just on my way to work and I wanted to stop by and see how you were doing?" Bosco said, holding up his hand so that Charlie could give him a high-five  
  
"I'm doin' okay. Still going to see that doctor though," he said with chagrin.  
  
"Hey, whatever your Mom thinks you need, right? She knows best," Bosco reminded him and Charlie agreed.   
  
After a moment of silence, Bosco said, "Well, I've gotta get to work. No problems?"  
  
"No problems. Thanks again, Uncle B," Charlie said, stepping around the car and up onto the curb. He waved as Bosco drove away. Bosco had wanted to offer him a ride home, but he'd heard that Faith was getting read to come back to work, which meant that Fred would probably have changed his shift to be there when the kids got home from school and he didn't want to get into anything with him.  
  
It had been about two months since Bosco had found Charlie and helped him break the news to his mother. Bosco stopped by school periodically when the kids were getting out to check up on the kids that Charlie was hanging with. He seemed to be making good choices and Bosco hadn't heard of any more problems. Not that he ever directly talked to Faith. One day, shortly after everything with Charlie had happened, he'd come home from work to see a message on his machine. Pressing the replay button, he was surprised to hear Faith's voice on the machine and his stomach tightened thinking that there was a problem. Knowing he'd be at work and she had decided to call and leave a message so that they wouldn't have the awkwardness between them. He still had the tape from the message and listened to it periodically just to hear his partner's voice. She'd send him short notes to let him know how Charlie and Emily were doing.  
  
He pulled into the lot by the Precinct and looked around before getting out to see if he saw any signs of Faith. Nothing. He gathered his uniforms from the back seat and, throwing them over his shoulder, he headed into the House - late as usual - to get ready for his shift. He rushed into the locker room and came across Ty and Sully just putting the finishing touches on their uniforms.  
  
"Bosco. Punctual as usual," Sully teased.  
  
"Bite me, Sullivan," Bosco threw back playfully.   
  
"Play nice, boys," came the familiar voice from across the room and Bosco froze. Ty saw the look on Bosco's face and smiled, trying to hold in the laugh. Bosco looked over his shoulder to see Faith sitting on the bench in front of her locker tying her shoe.  
  
"Hey," was all Bosco could manage to get out and even then his voice cracked somewhat. Sully and Ty quietly headed out to roll call, giving them a few minutes alone.  
  
"Hey yourself," Faith threw back at him, finishing the task of tying her shoes and standing up. "Boy, I forgot how much all this crap weighs," she said, referring to the gun belt and other equipment, trying to make small talk.  
  
She looked over at Bosco who was still in the same position. "You better get ready for roll call. You know the Boss'll have your ass if you're late," she said, closing her locker and walking toward him.  
  
"Faith...," Bosco started, opening his locker.  
  
"Not now, Bos. You're late and I'm due at the desk - light duty still. But, we'll talk soon. I promise," Faith said, putting a hand on Bosco's shoulder as she walked past.  
  
Bosco turned to watch her progress to the door and called after her. "Faith," he said and she turned back to him. "Welcome back."  
  
"Thanks. Later, and be careful out there," Faith said, opening the door and walking out.  
  
Bosco quickly finished dressing and hurried out of the locker room and to the roll call room. He threw a glance over his shoulder and saw Faith answering the phone at the front desk. He rushed into roll call just as the Lieutenant was starting his briefing.  
  
"Glad you could join us, Officer Boscorelli," Swersky threw out to him. Bosco just flashed a smile and said, "Sorry, Boss."  
  
After giving out the information of the shift, Swersky called out the car and sector assignments. "Boscorelli, you're with me today - at least a little while. I need a driver for the first half of the shift. After that, you'll be riding solo in 55-David," he said, expecting some kind of complaint.  
  
"Yes, Sir," was Bosco's only reply. Nothing could ruin this day.  
  
"Okay. That's it. Everyone get to work and be careful," the Lieutenant said, dismissing the shift to begin patrols.  
  
Bosco hung back as the rest of the personnel shuffled out. The Lieutenant looked up at him as Sgt. Dillon was giving him some information. "Boscorelli. Go get us two radios and meet me in your RMP," Swersky said.  
  
"Yes, Sir," Bosco replied and moved out to get the radios and get to the car.  
  
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TBC... 


	13. Chapter 13

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 13  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Where to, Boss?" Bosco asked as the Lieutenant climbed into the passenger seat of 55-David.  
  
"One P-P," Lieutenant Swersky replied in a heavy sigh, referring to the address known and feared by many officers. It was One Police Plaza - the home of the Commissioner of Police - a place where many officers have gone to be reprimanded, suspended and terminated from the NYPD.  
  
"I don't have to go in with you do I, Sir?" Bosco asked nervously. He hated going to One P-P. The last time he'd been there it had been to relay the facts of what happened the night Faith and Cruz were shot and Aaron Noble was killed by his gun. He'd been extremely lucky - luckier than he thought he should have been. He still had his job which he thought was gone for sure. That was one thing that Cruz had done right - covered him under the FBI umbrella. He'd just wished she would've done the same for Faith. But, that had worked out better than he thought it would too - Cruz had fallen for his bluff about having everything documented by Faith. "Thank God," he thought to himself.  
  
"Did you hear me, Boscorelli?" Lieutenant Swersky asked Bosco, bringing him from his thoughts.  
  
"Sorry, Sir. What'd you say?" he quickly replied.  
  
"I said, 'No, you can drop me off for my meeting and I'll get hold of you on the radio when I'm ready to be picked up,'" Swersky repeated.  
  
"Oh. Great. No problem," Bosco said, obviously relieved.  
  
They traveled to the next intersection where they caught another red light. Lieutenant Swersky stole a quick glance at Bosco as the car came to a stop at the light. "I thought we'd have a chance to talk during the trip downtown," the Lieutenant said non-chalantly.  
  
"Talk, Sir?" Bosco questioned, trying to think back to what he may have done wrong. He couldn't think of anything and looked over to his boss.  
  
"Yeah. How have things been going with you since this whole Aaron Noble ordeal? Any lingering problems?" the Lieutenant asked as they both noticed the light change to green.  
  
After a brief delay, Bosco accelerated through the intersection and caught up with the flow of the afternoon traffic. "No, Sir. Things are getting back to normal, I guess," he replied.  
  
"You heard that Faith Yokas was coming back to work, right?" Swersky asked, looking over to see Bosco's reaction. He noticed the slight tightening of Bosco's grip on the steering wheel.  
  
"I ran into her in the locker room this afternoon. I was surprised. I didn't know she was coming back this soon," he replied, inwardly griping about catching the next red light. He didn't like the conversation - wanted to get the Lieutenant to his meeting and then take off, away from this conversation.  
  
"Well, she's back on desk duty. Her doctors say she's cleared for regular duty, but she wanted to ease back into it. I can't blame her, but she's worried that she's not mentally ready for the job so she doesn't want to put anyone into danger until she's sure," the Lieutenant explained.  
  
Bosco nodded, but said nothing as the light changed and he accelerated again. After a moment, Bosco voiced his question. "So, do you think she'll be taking a partner again when she goes back on the street, Sir?"  
  
"Why? Are you looking for a partner? I thought you'd gotten used to riding alone," Swersky said.  
  
"No. I mean, yeah," Bosco stammered. "I mean, I just don't think she'd want to partner up with me, Sir. Not that I blame her. I messed up bad - I think we all know that. I was just wondering if she was thinking about getting a new partner and who it might be," he tried to explain.  
  
"Well, she hasn't really discussed any of that with me yet. I think she just wants to see how she does getting back into the routine. And to see if she can cut it out on the streets again," the Lieutenat said as Bosco pulled up in front of Police Headquarters.  
  
"She can cut it. I have no doubt," Bosco simply said.  
  
"I think so too," Swersky replied, pulling the door handle and opening the door. "I'll give you a call when I'm ready to be picked up."  
  
"Yes, Sir," Bosco replied, watching the man walk into the building. He sat in the car staring off at nothing for a few minutes until the dispatcher came on to ask if he was available for a call yet.  
  
"Affirmative, Central. 55-David is 10-98," he replied. He listened as the dispatcher gave out the address to him and two other units. He looked back toward the building one more time and, flipping on the emergency lights and siren, he pulled from the curb to respond to large fight that had begun back near the Precinct.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	14. Chapter 14

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 14  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Faith listened on the radio that was at the front desk as the multiple units arrived at and handled the large gang fight that had broken out at King and 198th. It had taken the responding officers about an hour to get everything under control and there had been a few injuries to members of the NYPD in the process. Faith had been taking the calls from officers at the hospital calling in to report that they or their partners were at Mercy getting treatment for the various injuries received - thankfully, none life-threatening or requiring hospitalization.  
  
Her phone rang again and she answered, "55th Precinct. Officer Yokas."  
  
Bosco hesitated for a moment, forgetting that she'd be answering the phone.  
  
"55th Precinct. Can I help you?" Faith repeated into the phone.  
  
"Um, yeah. Faith, it's Bosco. I'm over at Mercy. Has Swersky been looking for me yet?" Bosco finally was able to get out.  
  
"Bosco? Did you get hurt?" Faith asked.  
  
"Nothing major. Just the usual bumps and bruises," he said and she could hear the smirk in his voice. He'd always worn his wounds as a badge of honor and she smiled as she remembered. "Has Lieu been looking for me? He was supposed to call me to pick him up when he was done at Headquarters, but I was tied up at this gang fight," he asked again.  
  
"Oh, yeah. He called a little while ago, but he knew you were tied up, so I grabbed an RMP and went over to pick him up. So, you're all set," she told him.  
  
"Alright. We'll, if anyone's looking for me, I'm just waiting for this jag-off to get a medical clearance and then I'll be bringing in two for booking," he told her.  
  
"Alright. See you in a bit," she said, hanging up the phone, her hand remaining on the phone for a moment.  
  
She looked up to see the Lieutenant walking by and reported what Bosco had said. "What happened to him?" the Lieutenant asked.  
  
"Nothing major, Lieu. At least that's what he said," Faith told him.  
  
"Yeah. Nothing major. The last time he said that, he ended up unconscious in the locker room from a concussion that no one knew about because he never got checked out at the hospital," Swersky reminder her.  
  
"Yeah. I remember that. But, he was making sense and everything.... Come to think of it, maybe that means he does have a head injury," she joked, getting a chuckle from the Lieutenant as she shuddered at the memory of walking into the locker room and finding him sprawled out on the floor by his locker.  
  
"Just the same, have him report to me when he gets back," he said, walking off toward his office.  
  
"Yes, Sir," she replied and went back to work.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Another half hour sent by and Faith heard the familiar sound of Bosco parading a prisoner into the booking area bringing a smile to her face. It had been a long time since she'd heard her partner's "gentle" urging of a prisoner. "Hmm," she thought to herself, noticing that she still referred to Bosco as her partner. Truth was, she hadn't decided if she could even go back out on the street, let alone be partnered with Bosco again. She wasn't sure she could trust him again.  
  
"Move it, Jag-off!" she heard, immediately followed by the sound of the door to the cell slamming shut. "Now just sit down across from each other, because if I have to come in there and separate the two of you, you'll find yourselves back in the hospital before you know what hit you!"  
  
"Yo! Officer Boscorelli...," started one of the prisoners as she heard Bosco stomp heavily down the stairs behind the desk.  
  
"Save it, Jag-off. I've heard enough out of your mouth to last me a lifetime. Just sit there and shut up!" he finished, roughly slapping his paperwork on the desk. Faith glanced up to see him rubbing his head as if he had a headache. She noticed the bruise on the side of his head, near his temple.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?! You look like crap," she said, concern for the bruise that seemed to be getting more purple right before her eyes. She noticed the tired look to his face, his brow furrowed.  
  
"Well, it's good to know that my looks reflect the way I feel, because I feel like crap," Bosco replied jovially despite his pounding headache.  
  
"Did you get looked at?" Faith asked him, leaning around to get a better look. "And is that stitches?" she added.  
  
"I'm fine. Yes, I got looked at and yes, I got a couple stitches," he said as if he were being mothered.  
  
"Oh, okay," Faith said, noting the look on his face from her concern. Some things never change - he hated being fussed over. "Swersky wanted you to check in with him when you got back," she told him.  
  
"Okay. Just let me get these two idiots into the system first," he said. He started the paperwork while standing at the desk and was able to catch sight of Faith while he wrote.  
  
"So, how is it being back?" Bosco asked casually, not looking up from his papers.  
  
"Uh, it's kinda weird actually," she said, her hands resting on what she was working on as she turned toward Bosco. "I feel like I've been gone forever. There's new faces in the records room," she said with surprise on her face. "I had to actually introduce myself and show my ID when I went down there earlier."  
  
"Yeah. Did you see that Marlie that's down there?" Bosco said, acting like his old self with her. He caught himself and glanced up at her to see the smile on her face.  
  
"She's young enough to be your daughter, Bos," she teased him.  
  
"She's older than she looks," he said in defense.  
  
"So, you've already been out with her?" Faith asked.  
  
"No, but I'm working on it. I'm wearing her down," he joked back.  
  
Faith was just about to tease him with something else when they were interrupted by the sound of gunfire outside the building. They each instinctively reached for their weapons and dropped down low. As quickly as they heard the shots and dropped toward the floor, they heard another burst of gunfire and the sound of glass breaking as the shots broke through the front door and windows of the Precinct. Bosco quickly scooted around the desk so that he was behind it with Faith, somewhat protected from the bullets being launched through the front of the building.  
  
At the same time, Faith reached up and grabbed the phone. She pushed the speed dial button for the dispatcher and began to inform the dispatcher that the 55th was under attack and to send help from the neighboring Precincts and those from the 55th that were still out on patrol. A split-second later, the sound of the dispatcher's voice spilled over all the radios in the station giving the information that Faith had phoned in and dispatching units from all over to respond.  
  
"We've gotta get to better cover," Bosco said, turning toward Faith and seeing the look on her face. It wasn't until then that he felt the burning pain in his shoulder.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	15. Chapter 15

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 15  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Ow!" he said in a loud whisper as the extent of the pain set in. He felt the burning pain going down his right arm and the slow, warm trickle of blood as it seeped out of the wound and ran down to his hand. He felt his grip on his gun get slippery. He switched the gun to his left hand, but Faith wasn't too concerned as she knew that he always practiced shooting at the range with both hands in the event of just this situation. She'd always teased him about it before, but she was thankful for it now. She was sure she'd hear the "I told you so" from Bosco when all was said and done.  
  
"Bosco! Are you okay? How bad is it?" she asked in a nervous whisper, moving around to get a better look at his wound. She began to try to unbutton his shirt so that she could have room to pull it back and try to see how serious the wound was. Bosco was flinching at the pain the movement was causing. Their attention was again brought back to what was going on as more gunfire erupted despite the sounds of numerous approaching sirens.  
  
Both officers froze as they heard whoever was firing at them come cautiously through the front door. Bosco turned to peek around the corner of the desk and noticed that they were members of the gang that was attacked earlier. Apparently, they had decided to come into a police station and try to exact their revenge on the members of the rival gang that were in custody.  
  
"What are they, stupid?!" Bosco said, looking back at Faith. "You okay?" he asked, seeing the nervous look on her face and remembering that today was her first day back.  
  
She quickly nodded that she was fine and he realized that the look was that she was actually trying to formulate a plan to keep them safe and get Bosco to medical attention.   
  
Faith looked over at Bosco. He obviously didn't realize how badly he was bleeding according to her perception of his reaction to being shot. But, she knew that it wouldn't be long until he started feeling just how much blood he was losing. She just hoped that things would be under control before he lost consciousness and she could get him out of here. She resumed her attempts at looking at his wound. The bullet went in just to the side of his vest, under his arm. She looked around behind the desk, but there was nothing she could use as a makeshift bandage.  
  
They heard numerous police vehicles screeching to a halt outside the building and the gang members that had entered had gotten out of their sight and they weren't sure where they were.  
  
"I see at least two of our guys down out by the front door. One of them is moving, but the other isn't," he called over his shoulder to her as he took another look around the corner of the desk.  
  
"Did you see how many of them there were?" Faith asked, pivoting around to cover the other side of the desk in case someone came from that side. They could hear the sounds of the officers outside calling into the building for the bad guys to surrender and come out. Even though there was very little noise inside the Precinct, it didn't mean that those inside had given up control of the situation to those in command on the outside.  
  
"No," Bosco answered as he cautiously peeked out again and looked toward the front then tried to get a look up the stairs to the booking area and offices located behind the desk. Bosco barely peeked out, but one of the gunmen had seen him. He fired back at Bosco, missing him, but stupidly giving away his position to all of the officers inside the building. No one had a clean shot at the kid though, so no shots were fired.  
  
Bosco ducked back behind the desk and felt his head spin a little. He looked down at his hand and noticed that blood was now dripping from the end of his fingers. "Faith," he whispered. She turned to look at him. "We gotta do something to get those injured guys out of here."  
  
"I know," Faith said, noticing the pale color of his face and the slowly growing puddle of blood on the floor under his arm. "How're you doing?" she asked him.  
  
"Well, my headache's gone," he tried to joke, but he was hit with another wave of nausea and lightheadedness. "I'm starting to not feel too good. We gotta do something fast," he told her.  
  
She nodded to him and holstered her weapon to take off her uniform shirt, leaving nothing but her vest over the t-shirt she wore to avoid the vest chafing her skin. She moved closer to Bosco and, tearing the shirt in two began to try to use it as a bandage to slow the flow of blood. She pulled him forward a little and looked at his back. There was no exit wound, so for all they knew the bullet could have ricocheted and hit something internally.  
  
"Just sit there and relax. I'll get us out of here," she told him. She knew when he didn't argue with her that he was definitely not doing too good. She watched as he leaned back against the desk, leaning his head back and closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again a few seconds later, she noticed that it seemed to take a moment for them to focus properly. "He's gonna pass out soon," she thought to herself.  
  
Bosco put his gun down momentarily on his lap and reached to his radio with his good arm. "Central, this is 55-David from inside the 55th. Put me through to command outside on a closed frequency," he requested.  
  
A moment later, the dispatcher's calm voice came over the radio. "55-David, go with Incident Command on emergency channel." Despite their desire, the other officers in the building knew not to change their radios to the emergency channel as that would broadcast the information Bosco was relaying to the outside to within earshot of the gunmen.  
  
In a quiet voice to try to avoid from being heard by anyone close to him, Bosco said, "Command, this is 55-David. We've got two officers down by the front door. One's moving, one isn't. I don't know how bad they are," he said, pausing as he felt the room spin again. He closed his eyes to stop the nausea and continued. "The perps have moved past me and my partner," he said without thinking, "at the front desk. I think you have a clean shot at getting those officers out and to the hospital. Let me know when you're gonna move and we'll try to cover you from in here."  
  
"10-4, David. Stand by," responded the Commander.  
  
Lieutenant Swersky had switched his portable radio to the emergency channel from his cover point and listened to Bosco's plan. He again tried to peek out from where he was, but was unable to move as the shooters were within his direct line of vision - if he stuck his head up or moved, they'd start shooting for sure. He had turned the volume very low and turned his radio to the emergency channel and heard Bosco's voice over the radio, however, and didn't like the sound of it.  
  
Keying the mike on his radio, he barely whispered, "Swersky to 55-David. What's your situation?"  
  
Bosco was trying to conserve his energy for when he would be needed to cover the men down by the front door. He handed the microphone over to Faith. As she took it, she felt how cold his hand was from the shock that was setting in from the blood loss.  
  
"Lieu, my partner's injured. Holding steady for now, but we need to do something to get him some medical attention. He's losing a lot of blood," Faith whispered back.  
  
"10-4, David," the Lieutenant responded, helpless to do anything right now, but noticing that they were referring to each other as partners again. "There's hope for them after all," he thought to himself. He knew that ESU was already working on a plan to get into the building and search out the shooters.  
  
Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire inside the building. The gunshots were simultaneous with loud profanity directed at the gang members inside the holding cells. The Lieutenant saw the prisoners fall to the ground and took that time to make a stand against the gunmen. He fired a shot, hitting one of them in the leg. "Police! Put your weapons down and show me your hands," he ordered, standing a little taller. He wasn't sure if there were others in the building so he tried to keep an eye out for movement in his peripheral vision.   
  
At the same time that the Lieutenant fired on the men, one of them quickly jumped back and over the banister, landing right behind the desk with Bosco and Faith. He immediately swiveled and turned his gun on the two officers.   
  
Faith looked quickly over at Bosco and saw that he'd lost consciousness. He was lying in a half-sitting position against the base of the front desk, his eyes closed. He had a gray pallor to his face, but Faith could see he was still breathing, although it was labored. The perp saw this too and quickly trained his gun on the officer that could cause him the most harm at the moment - Faith. Luckily, he didn't notice or think to get Bosco's gun away from him.  
  
"Give me your gun," ordered the gunman, who appeared to be only a kid. Faith kept her gun trained on the kid, refusing to relinquish it. She could see the kid was a nervous wreck - probably his first real gang activity. He still had the bruises that Faith had assumed were from being beaten into the gang not too long ago. She wanted to ask him if this is what he'd bargained for when joining the gang - a trip to Ryker's and probably a death penalty if any of these injured officers died. She looked over at Bosco again and then quickly back to the boy.  
  
"Look. I'm not gonna put the gun down and I'll bet I can still take you out if you shoot at me," Faith said. "So, just drop the gun and I'll see what I can do to help you when this is all over."  
  
The nervous kid just looked at her without saying anything. "I can't. I gotta do this," the kid said, slowly pulling his arm straighter and aiming the gun at Faith.  
  
Out of nowhere, they both heard the click of the safety being released from a weapon and without a sound, Bosco had his gun stuck in the kid's ear. Faith could see he was fighting to remain conscious and she took advantage of the boy's shock and grabbed for and got his gun away from him. Not a moment too soon either as Bosco fell back against the desk again, unconscious.  
  
"Move over here," she told the kid and he did. She moved closer to Bosco and without taking her eyes or her gun off the kid, she reached down with one hand to check Bosco's pulse. It was weak and rapid, a sign that he was in shock. His breathing was still loud and labored which worried her. She thought that maybe he had a lung injury for the bullet that had gone in. She told the kid to grab a stack of the papers that were under the desk and put them under Bosco's feet to elevate his legs for the shock.  
  
"Lieu!" she called out. "I've got one at gunpoint here."  
  
"I got one too. ESU's coming in. I think that's all of them, including one that was shot as he came through the door. Just stand by until ESU sweeps and gives us the all-clear," he called back. "Are there any other injuries?" he called out and was relieved to hear that there weren't.  
  
"Faith. How's Bosco?" he called over to her.  
  
"Not good, Lieu. Tell ESU to hurry up," she answered.  
  
"We're right here," one of the ESU officers said as they came around the desk and took the young kid into custody. Faith holstered her weapon and went to Bosco's side. Two other officers came in and grabbed Bosco. Faith followed them out of the building to the waiting Paramedics from the firehouse across the street.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	16. Chapter 16

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 16  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kim and Doc were the first of the medics to reach Bosco as he was brought out of the building by ESU. Carlos and Levine had already left to bring the other two officers in to Mercy.  
  
"Doc! He's shot!" Faith called to Doc to hurry him as he approached.   
  
"What happened? Where, Faith?" Doc asked as he set down his equipment bags and began to scan Bosco for injuries.  
  
"On his left side, under the vest, Doc," Faith called over to him as Kim was trying to make sure she was okay, wiping Bosco's blood from her hands.  
  
Doc cut away Bosco's blood-soaked shirt and undid the Velcro of his vest, cutting away the underlying t-shirt. He exposed Bosco's chest and lifted his arm away from his side and found the entry wound of the bullet. He put a dressing on to try to slow the flow of blood. Immediately, he turned Bosco to look at his back and checked his other side to see if there was an exit wound and found none.  
  
"I'm fine, Kim. It's my partner that's hurt," Faith finally said in exasperation, pushing Kim away from her. "Just go help Doc," she said, in almost an apologetic tone realizing that Kim was only doing her job.  
  
Jimmy Doherty, who had been standing in front of the firehouse with the other firefighters watching the events unfold had finally made his way through the crowd and reached Doc. The other members of the fire department had spread out and were helping the other medics and police in treating the wounded.  
  
"Doc, can I do anything?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," Doc replied as he was starting an IV. "Get me some vitals and put the oxygen on him," he directed as Kim came over from checking on Faith.  
  
"She's fine," Kim reported as she reached Doc's side.  
  
"Okay, I've got him and Doherty's helping me. Get over and triage patients and make sure we've got enough buses and medics. If we need more, then call for more," he told Kim.  
  
Jimmy went about setting up the oxygen and getting a round of vitals while Doc raised the hospital on the phone. As he was giving his report to the hospital, Jimmy read off the vitals as he obtained them. Doc moved the phone away from his mouth when he heard the blood pressure that Jimmy had gotten. "Take that BP again," he said to Jimmy, hoping that it wasn't really that low. "Stand by for BP, Mercy," he said in to the phone.  
  
Jimmy re-took the BP and looked at Doc. "It's the same thing," he told him, repeating the numbers. Doc gave a slight shake of his head and repeated the numbers to the hospital as he reached to get what he needed to start a second IV.  
  
"Doc?" Faith asked, coming closer.  
  
"I don't know, Faith. He's in pretty bad shape, but he's young and he's in good shape," Doc told her as he worked.  
  
Carlos walked over to him, having just returned from transporting the other injured officers. "Doc. What d'you need?" he asked, taken aback at seeing Bosco lying on the ground in front of him.  
  
"Take over for Kim and tell her I need a stretcher over here. We've gotta run with him," Doc said as he put the last of the tape to hold the IV in place. He checked the oxygen flow and applied another dressing over the first that was soaked with blood. "Let's go," he said, standing up.  
  
Kim reached him with the stretcher and Doc and Jimmy lifted Bosco onto the gurney. "You comin'?" Doc called over his shoulder to Faith.  
  
"Yeah," she replied and turned to find Sully and Ty approaching. "Sully! Tell the Boss I'm goin' to Mercy with Bosco. And tell him to call Bosco's Mom," she added, turning to catch up with Bosco.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^  
  
Faith and Bosco's mother sat next to each other in the waiting area of the ICU. They were just bringing Bosco up to the floor following his time in the recovery room after surgery to repair the damage to his lung and spleen from the bullet that ricocheted around after it went in. There were numerous fellow officers and fire personnel pacing around and in and out of the waiting area with them.  
  
Faith was sitting forward, her elbows resting on her knees, her head resting in her hands as her fingers massaged her temples in an attempt to relieve the tension headache that had formed there.  
  
"Faith?" came the voice from the doorway and she looked up to see Fred standing there.  
  
"Fred. What're you doing here? Where's the kids?" she asked, standing up and walking over to him.  
  
"They're at home. Emily's there and my Mom's on her way over. What happened? I called the station to see how your first day back was going and found out you were over here. They wouldn't tell me anything and then I was listening to the radio on the way over and they said there was a gang fight and shootout in the middle of the station?!" he asked, unable to believe it and relieved to find out that she wasn't one of those hurt.  
  
"Yeah. There was a gang fight a few blocks away and some rival gang members came through the front shooting," she told him.  
  
"But, you're okay, right?" he said, looking her over for any signs of bandages or anything.  
  
"Yeah, Fred. I'm fine. It's Bosco. He's been shot. He just got out of surgery and they're bringing him up here. He was hurt pretty bad," she told him and saw him stiffen at the fact that she was here because Bosco had gotten hurt.   
  
"Fred. Don't. Not now. This isn't the place," she said in warning.  
  
"I can't believe that you'd be here after everything that happened," Fred whispered to her. Faith looked over her shoulder to see if Rose had heard any of it. She didn't appear to have heard.  
  
Faith gripped Fred's arm and pulled him further away. "That's Bosco's Mom sitting over there, so please keep your voice down."  
  
She paused for a moment as Fred looked over her shoulder to see who Faith was talking about, sorry that he'd spoken so loudly. After a moment, Faith continued.  
  
"Fred, it's time to let this thing with Bosco go. There were mistakes made on all sides. I know there were big mistakes made by Bosco, but I made some of my own and Cruz certainly had a big part in it as well. It's over. I was shot, I recovered and I'm back to work. And, we're all smarter for it happening. Now, my partner got shot today, and despite how seriously he was injured, he was still able to save my life from a scared kid, with shaking hands, that had a gun pointed to my head," she told him, her voice rising and his eyes going wide at the news.   
  
"That's right. Bosco saved my life, Fred," she reinforced to him. "And I found something else out today," she said, pausing to regain some of her composure and to lower her voice.   
  
"Bosco is my partner and he'll always be my partner for as long as he'll have me. We've been through hell and back together and I can't expect you to understand that, but it's the truth. And, he'd lay his life down for me if it came to it and I'd like to think that he could count on me to do the same thing for him. Hell, he was ready to sacrifice his career - all he knows or has - to keep me from going to jail, Fred! We have to trust each other out there, and there's no one I'd trust more than Bosco," she said, defiantly.  
  
"But, Faith. Because of him you were almost paralyzed!" he reminded her.  
  
"Fred, let me ask you something. If it was the other way around, do you think he'd have treated me the same way that I treated him? Do you think he would have blamed me? Did he hold it against me when he almost got killed because I didn't tell him about the cancer and I couldn't keep up with him when he was chasing that guy? He was shot in the chest at close range. Luckily, his vest stopped a bullet from his own gun. Do you think he once threw it back in my face and held it against me? No, Fred. He didn't. It happened and we learned a little about trusting each other that day," she said, as the elevator doors opened, pulling her attention away from Fred.  
  
She saw the stretcher with Bosco on it being wheeled from the elevator and looked quickly back at Fred. "I can't talk about this anymore right now. Go home and be with the kids. Tell them I'm fine, but that Bosco got hurt. I'll tell them more about it when I get home and have more information," she said, turning to follow Rose toward Bosco. Turning back she added, "And I think you should thank Bosco for not ignoring that Charlie had a problem despite the crap that we put him through both before and after I got shot."  
  
Fred watched Faith walk toward the hallway and stared after her as he let sink in what Faith had just said - especially the part about Bosco helping Charlie.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	17. Chapter 17

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 17  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
He heard the soft voices first. It was so hard to open his eyes. He fought to open them, but he just couldn't. He felt the pain in his side and abdomen. "Hell, he hurt everywhere," he thought to himself. He struggled to remember what happened, but his mind kept it just out of reach for now. He heard the sounds from the hospital's speakers and placed that he was in the hospital - for some reason. He knew he felt bad enough to be in a hospital.  
  
The sounds of the voices got a little closer now, and he could make them out.   
  
"I think he's coming around. His heart rate is increasing and it looks like he's trying to open his eyes. Better go get the doctor," came one the voices.  
  
"Officer Boscorelli? Can you hear me?" came the question as the fog he was in began to lift a little.  
  
"You're at Angel of Mercy Hospital. You're going to be fine. You had surgery, but you're going to be fine. Just try to relax," the voice told him as he felt the nurse's hand on his shoulder in an effort to keep him calm.  
  
He managed to finally fight hard enough to open his eyes, although it was hard to keep them open. His vision was blurry, but it gradually came into focus as he blinked and he was able to see the nurse that was talking to him.  
  
"What happened?" he managed to get out, though his voice was quite hoarse.   
  
"You were shot. You had surgery to repair some damage, but you're going to be just fine. The doctor's on his way so just try to relax," she assured him, and he suddenly remembered what had happened at the Precinct.  
  
"Faith?" he asked anxiously, and the nurse looked puzzled.  
  
"Is Faith okay?" he asked, a little more panicked this time. "She's my partner." The nurse noticed his heart rate increasing.  
  
"I don't know, but I'll go find out just as soon as the doctor comes in, okay," she assured him.  
  
He tried to sit up, but immediately realized that was a mistake. "You need to stay still right now. You've been through quite a lot," said the nurse as the doctor came in behind her.  
  
"Officer Boscorelli. Welcome back. I'm Dr. Maxon. How're you feeling?" he asked, looking from Bosco up to the monitors for his answer, noticing the patient seemed agitated - his heart rate and blood pressure up.  
  
"My partner. Is she okay?" Bosco asked again.  
  
"If your partner is Faith, she's fine. She's been out in the waiting room since you came in through the ER," Dr. Maxon said as he pulled down the sheet that was covering Bosco and peeled back some of the bandage to get a look at the wound.  
  
"I need to see for myself," Bosco said, still agitated.  
  
He remembered being behind the desk with her and being shot, but not much after that. He had no idea that he'd managed to remain conscious enough to save her from the kid that had jumped behind the desk with them. He'd just assumed that she was the one that got them both out of there alive.  
  
"Okay, Officer. I assure you that she's fine - totally unharmed. Here's what happened. You were shot and the bullet when in here," he said, indicating the spot just under his arm that wasn't covered by his vest. "Instead of coming right out, the bullet must have hit a rib and ricocheted. It hit your left lung and then your spleen. That's where we found it. You went to surgery and we were able to repair everything and remove the bullet. You lost quite a bit of blood, but we were able to replace that - thanks in part to the numerous donations from co-workers and friends. So, you're going to be quite sore for a little while, but we'll keep you comfortable with medications for now so your body has a chance to start healing," the doctor explained. "That's part of what's making you so sleepy."   
  
Bosco was fighting against the drugs that were making him drowsy, but nodded his understanding to the doctor. He just wanted to see if Faith was okay and then let his mother know that he was okay.  
  
"Okay. Everything looks fine and you should get some rest. But, your mother and partner are here. I'm going to let them come in - one at a time - for just a brief visit and then we're kicking them out for a while, okay?" Dr. Maxon asked, giving Bosco a smile.  
  
Bosco nodded and said, "Thanks, Doc."  
  
As the doctor left the room, the nurse that had been talking with him when he woke up was checking his bandages and his IVs. She re-covered him with the sheet, asked if he was warm enough and then began to write notes in his bedside chart.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**  
  
Dr. Maxon came out of Bosco's room and went to the waiting room. Finding Faith and Rose, he went directly over to them.  
  
"Okay. Officer Boscorelli's awake, but probably not for long. He's been through quite a lot. I told him you could each come in for a very brief visit, but don't be surprised if he drifts off in the middle of a conversation. We're giving him some pretty strong pain medication," he explained.  
  
"He's very concerned that you're safe, which is causing him some distress, so we'll let you go in first," he said, looking to Faith. "If that's okay with you, Mrs. Boscorelli," the doctor said, looking at Rose.  
  
"Doctor, I know how concerned Bosco probably is with Faith. She's been through a lot herself lately. If it will make him calm down to see her first, that's fine," Rose said, looking from the doctor to Faith.  
  
"I'll be quick," Faith promised, standing up to follow the doctor down the hallway.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
As Faith quietly entered the room, she looked at the bed that held Bosco. "He looks so pale and weak," she thought to herself. His eyes were closed and she saw that he was out of it again.   
  
The nurse looked up when she heard the door open and motioned for her to come over to the bed. She bent down closer to Bosco and said, "Officer Boscorelli?" Faith saw a frown come across Bosco's face. She'd seen that frown so many times and it made her smile. "You're partner is here to see you," the nurse said and the frown deepened as he fought to wake up, the numbers on the heart monitor increasing again. The nurse stepped away so they could have some privacy.  
  
"It's okay, Bos. Calm down. You don't have to wake up. I just wanted to let you know that I was here and see for myself that you're okay. You need to get some rest so you can get well," Faith said, putting a hand on his arm and rubbing it gently.  
  
But he continued to fight and she saw his eyes open. He finally focused on her and she saw that he was looking her over.  
  
"I'm fine. Not a scratch. Thanks to you," Faith said and he was confused at what she meant by that. "I'm glad you're okay. The doctor said you're gonna be fine," she assured him and he nodded sleepily, the rates on his monitor returning to normal as he relaxed at seeing that she really was okay.  
  
"Look, your Mom is here and she's really anxious to see you. I'm gonna go and let her come in so that you can get some rest. I'll be outside though, okay?" she said and got a tired nod as he closed his eyes again.  
  
She leaned closer to him and quietly said, "Thanks, Bos."  
  
He heard what she said, but didn't know what she meant by it and drifted off again.  
  
A moment later the nurse was calling to him again.  
  
"Officer. Your mother is here. Over on your left," she said, and Bosco again fought to open his eyes and focus.  
  
"Hey, Ma," he managed to get out, giving her a smile. He saw the look of fear in her wet eyes. She'd been crying.  
  
"I'm okay, Ma. Promise," he said and she took his hand. He managed to give her a light squeeze.  
  
"I just had to see for myself. I love you, Maurice. I want you to do exactly what the doctor's tell you so you can get better," Rose said, leaning over and giving her son a kiss on his cheek. "Do you hear me?"  
  
Bosco smiled again and nodded, his eyes fluttering shut again. "I'll be right outside, Baby," Rose said.   
  
Bosco gave her hand another squeeze and then fell asleep. Rose let go, watched him sleep for a moment and then went out, thanking the nurse as she left.  
  
"I'll let you know when he wakes again," the nurse told her and Rose thanked her.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**  
  
TBC... 


	18. Chapter 18

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 18  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, how bad is it?" Emily asked Faith as Charlie looked on. Fred sat in the corner of the room, pretending to read the paper.  
  
"Well, it's pretty serious," Faith said. "The bullet went in here," she said, pointing to the area on herself. "And then it hit something - probably a rib - and hit his lung and his spleen. But, the doctor said that they were able to get the bullet out and fix any damage. He said that he's gonna be okay though," she added and looked over at Charlie to see how he was handling it.  
  
"Charlie? You okay?" she asked at the worried look on his face. "I know it's scary and that's okay. I'm scared too, but he's gonna be okay. I talked to him. He's uncomfortable, but he's okay."  
  
"How'd it happen?" Charlie asked finally. Faith thought for a moment on whether or not to tell the whole story - including that she'd almost gotten shot again - and decided that she'd better be honest with them. She caught sight of Fred out of the corner of her eye and thought that maybe it would help Fred to understand and be forgiving if he heard the whole story too.  
  
"Well, I was working at the station - the front desk - and there was this fight between two gangs. It was only a few blocks from the station," she started. She continued until she'd gotten through it all and finished with, "...and then ESU came in. They took over and got us out and Kim and Doc brought Bosco to the hospital. He had the surgery and now he's in a hospital room, recovering," she finished, looking over at Fred who had a weird look on his face.  
  
"So, you guys have some homework, right?" she said, thinking that she and Fred could talk some more.  
  
"Yeah. C'mon, Charlie," Emily said, standing up.  
  
Charlie stood up and as they walked toward their room, he stopped and turned back to Faith. "Can we see him? I want to see him."  
  
Faith looked at her son for a moment, then said, "Yeah, you can see him, but not for a couple of days. He's kind of out of it from the medicine and stuff. They're limiting visits to only immediate family. But, as soon as he's feeling better, I'll bring you over myself, okay?"  
  
"Okay," he said and then he and Emily continued on down the hallway.  
  
Faith stood to pick up some of the dishes off the table and, carrying them to the kitchen sink, she stole a glance at Fred. "You're pretty quiet," she said finally.  
  
He stood up then and grabbed some of the dirty dishes and brought them into the kitchen. "So, if he was hurt so bad, how'd he do that when that guy had the gun pointed at you?" he asked, only half-believing her.  
  
Faith gave a short laugh as she turned off the water when the sink was full. "Fred, there are things that Bosco has done that no one can figure out. It's like he's a bull sometimes and nothing can stop him. Like during that shootout with that guy when Sully and Davis were looking for Chevchenko - you know, when Ty got shot. He drew their fire so that other officers could get into position to get control. I really don't know how he was able to lift his gun and hold it on that kid until ESU got to us, but I can tell you I'm pretty damned glad he did," she said as Fred started drying the dishes.  
  
"Yeah," Fred said in a soft voice as Faith started putting the dishes away. "So, you going back down there tomorrow?" Fred asked.  
  
"Probably. I'll call and see how he's doing first. You know, if he's really out of it, I'll probably just wait until I'm at work and stop in when I bring someone into the ER," she said.  
  
"You're going back out on partrol? Tomorrow?" Fred asked, putting the stack of dishes he had in his hand down on the counter roughly.  
  
"Yeah, Fred. I think I am. After everything that happened, I remember not feeling afraid. Not hesitating. I think I'm ready," she said proudly.  
  
"I thought you were going to ease into it. Besides, I kind of liked you behind the desk. I knew you were safe," Fred said and then remembered that everything happened today while she was working the desk and not on the streets.  
  
"Well, I think I'd be safer out on the street," she said, jokingly.  
  
"Well, if you're sure," Fred said. "Just be careful."  
  
"Always," Faith answered, walking up behind him and putting her arms around his waist. Fred turned to return the embrace and felt Faith yawn in his grasp.  
  
"Tired?" he asked.  
  
"Mmm hmmm," she answered. "My first day back and all the excitement, I guess."  
  
"Well, why don't you take a shower and settle in for the night - watch TV in the bedroom. I'll get the kids to bed and then I'll be in," he told her.  
  
"I think I'll take you up on that, if you're sure," she said. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Go ahead," he told her. He watched his wife walk down the hallway and disappear into the bathroom. A moment later, the shower turned on. He stood in the kitchen, thinking about all that happened today and how close he had come to losing his wife again. But, Bosco was there for her, like so many times in the past, like she'd always said he would be.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^  
  
The next morning, Fred left for work at his regular time, kissing Faith goodbye.  
  
"I'll be home regular time to get the kids. Call me later when you get a chance," he told her.  
  
"Okay. Have a good day," she said to him as he pulled the door closed behind him.  
  
Now, he stood outside of Bosco's hospital room, just looking through the door at him. He was sleeping.  
  
"Can I help you?" came the voice of one of the nurses.  
  
"Oh," Fred said, startled. "I was just here to see Bosco," he said.  
  
"Are you family?" the nurse asked him.  
  
"Um, yeah. I'm his brother. I just got out of work," he lied. "Do you think I could go in for a minute? I won't wake him up," he asked.  
  
"Just for a few minutes. He's still pretty out of it," the nurse said. "Do you want me to go in with you?" she asked, noticing the nervous look on his face.  
  
"No, that's okay. I'll only be a minute," he said and the nurse smiled and left.  
  
He took a couple of steps to the door and stopped for a moment. He looked up and down the hallway to see if there was anyone around and then stepped into the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC... 


	19. Chapter 19 CONCLUSION

Helping Hand  
  
Chapter 19  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Fred stood at the side of Bosco's bed and just looked at all the machines that were monitoring his vital signs. He listened to the rhythmic beat of the heart monitor and watched the IV fluids drip down the tubing and into his arm.  
  
He had to admit he was torn between trusting and forgiving Bosco. He knew from talking to Faith that Bosco had had problems. He had a crappy childhood - but who hadn't. Although, dealing with an alcoholic father that beat your mother, you, and your brother was pretty severe. "I guess you're lucky you didn't turn into the same thing - or worse," he thought to himself.  
  
He thought back on all the stuff that he and Faith had been through together and the fact that, for the most part, they'd all come out of it because they had each other's backs, as Faith liked to put it. He decided that he'd never understand the special bond that police officers had for each other; especially ones that were partnered every day with each other for the past 10 or so years. It was kind of like a marriage, he guessed.  
  
Deciding not to disturb him, Fred turned to leave and head to work. He'd stop by some other time to talk to him. As he turned, the rubber sole of his work boot made a squeak on the floor. He'd just about reached the doorway of the room when he heard a soft voice from behind him.  
  
"Fred?"   
  
Fred turned back toward Bosco and saw that he was awake. His eyes were squinting, as if he was trying to focus in on Fred.  
  
"Yeah, it's me," Fred said, walking back over toward Bosco.  
  
"What're you doin' here?" Bosco asked, worry suddenly coming to his face. "Is Faith okay? The kids?"  
  
"Everyone's fine," Fred assured him. "Just relax," he said, noticing the increased beat of the heart monitor. "I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing before I went to work," he said, as the monitor started to return to its normal rhythmic beat.  
  
"I'll live, I guess," he said sarcastically. "Although, the way I feel right now, I don't believe them."  
  
Fred chuckled a little. "Faith told me what the doctors said - you're gonna be fine."  
  
"Yeah, but I can think of better ways to spend a vacation," Bosco replied, a smirk on his face as a cute nurse came in and he followed her path. Fred noticed the nurse shyly look over at Bosco, retrieve what she'd come in for and then leave.  
  
"I think its gonna be a little while before you're up to that," Fred teased him.  
  
"I don't know, Fred. I'm always up for that," Bosco teased back.  
  
"Faith'll be glad you have your 'appetite' back," he joked.  
  
There was an awkward silence for a moment and then Fred broke it. "Well, I guess I should head over to work. Faith said she'd stop over, but she's gonna call first to see if you're up to it. She's said she's going back out on patrol today," Fred told him and noticed the surprised look on his face.  
  
"Really," Bosco said. "Hmm."  
  
"What, you don't think she's ready?" Fred asked with concern.  
  
"No, no. I think she's ready. The way she handled everything during that whole thing, she's definitely ready. I wouldn't be here if she hadn't gotten us out of there," Bosco said. He missed the surprised look on Fred's face.  
  
"What do you mean if 'she hadn't gotten you out of there'?" Fred asked.  
  
"Well, all I can remember is being shot. I mean, I was okay for a little while, but then it gets fuzzy and I don't remember what happened. But, she must've done something to get us out of there, right?" he said, half asking.  
  
"Well, from what Faith says, it was you that got you guys out of there alive," Fred told him.  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yeah, she said that some kid with a gun jumped into where you two were to hide and ended up pointing a gun at Faith's head, thinking that you were already dead," Fred explained. "She said, somehow, you managed to get your gun up and hold it on the kid until ESU found you guys. You don't remember that?" Fred asked.  
  
"No," Bosco said, somewhat embarrassed.  
  
"Well, that's part of what I came here for today," Fred confessed. "I wanted to thank you for saving her. I don't know if I could've lived through that again - or worse."  
  
"Well, I'm sure it was more Faith than me. I was pretty well messed up," Bosco said.  
  
"Yeah, well, I wanted to thank you for all you did for Charlie too. You really were great with him - and helping Emily and all that," Fred said.  
  
"I'm glad they thought they could count on me. It meant a lot at a really difficult time for me. I was pretty messed up after everything, you know?" Bosco admitted.   
  
"Yeah, well I guess we all were. Anyway, everyone can use a helping hand every now and then," Fred said. "So, I should get to work and let you get some rest," he said, suddenly changing the subject.  
  
"Yeah, right. Thanks. For stopping by, I mean. It means a lot. And, it gives me a chance to tell you that I'm sorry, Fred. For all of it. I wish I could take that whole time back. And, when Faith got shot, I wished it was me. I never thought anything like that would happen. I thought I had it under control...," Bosco said, leaving the sentence open.  
  
"Well, as Faith says, everyone learned something out of that," Fred said.  
  
After another moment of silence, Fred added, "Bosco, I don't know how I feel yet, but Faith seems to be willing to give this partner thing another chance. I guess she knows best when it comes to the two of you, but I want your promise that you won't let anything like this happen again."  
  
"I won't Fred. Never again," Bosco promised.  
  
Fred reached out a hand to Bosco. "Alright. I'm going to work now - for real. Let us know if you need anything. Sort of a return of a 'helping hand,'" he added.  
  
Bosco took his hand and shook it. "Thanks, Fred."  
  
"Alright, get some rest because I think Faith's gonna bring the kids in if you're up to it. Tell Faith I'll call her later," Fred said, turning and walking to the door. Bosco nodded and laid his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Fred came out of the room and turned toward the elevator and just about knocked Faith over. "Faith! What're you doing here?" Fred asked.  
  
"Fred," Faith said and leaned in to give him a kiss. "I heard everything. Thank you for making peace with him. I know it means a lot to him - and to me," Faith said.  
  
"Well, if you heard everything, you know I haven't made up my mind to trust him yet," Fred said. "So, what're you doing here this early?" he asked, changing the subject.  
  
"Well, I called to see how he was doing and they said he had a good night. Then Emily called and said she forgot one of her books for school. So, since I had to come over this way anyway, I figured I'd stop in and see him before I went to work. I'll visit for a while and then offer his mom a ride home - the nurse said she's been here all night. She's asleep in the waiting room right now. She could probably use a change of clothes and some fresh air," Faith told him.  
  
"Oh. Well, I may have worn him out. He looked pretty wiped out," he told her.  
  
"Not too wiped out for the pretty nurses though, I heard," Faith said with a smile.  
  
"Well, that's our Bosco," Fred said. Giving Faith a kiss, he headed for the elevator and work.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The End. 


End file.
